Exact historical dictionary sense
Action in Webster's 1913 dictionary
The 1913 record labels action as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.
WEBSTER 1913noun
Action
[OF. action, L. actio, fr. agere to do. See Act.]
Cross-verified historical senseHeadwordaction
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[OF. action, L. actio, fr. agere to do. See Act.]
Selected historical definitionA process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; the doing of something; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; the effect of power exerted on one body by another; agency; activity; operation; as, the action of heat; a man of action.
Signed record IDwebster1913-action-noun-7f97914e1c87
Source locatorCIDE.A, paragraph 2435; Gutenberg eBook 660
Quick answer
In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "action" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OF. action, L. actio, fr. agere to do. See Act.]" The selected historical definition says: "A process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; the doing of something; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; the effect of power exerted on one body by another; agency; activity; operation; as, the action of heat; a man of action."