From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Tread \Tread\, v. t.
1. To step or walk on.
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Forbid to tread the promised land he saw. --Prior.
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Methought she trod the ground with greater grace.
--Dryden.
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2. To beat or press with the feet; as, to tread a path; to
tread land when too light; a well-trodden path.
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3. To go through or accomplish by walking, dancing, or the
like. " I am resolved to forsake Malta, tread a pilgrimage
to fair Jerusalem." --Beau. & Fl.
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They have measured many a mile,
To tread a measure with you on this grass. --Shak.
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4. To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred;
to subdue.
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Through thy name will we tread them under that rise
up against us. --Ps. xliv. 5.
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5. To copulate with; to feather; to cover; -- said of the
male bird. --Chaucer.
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To tread out, to press out with the feet; to press out, as
wine or wheat; as, to tread out grain with cattle or
horses.
To tread the stage, to act as a stageplayer; to perform a
part in a drama.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Tread \Tread\, v. i. [imp. Trod; p. p. Trodden, Trod; p.
pr. & vb. n. Treading.] [OE. treden, AS. tredan; akin to
OFries. treda, OS. tredan, D. & LG. treden, G. treten, OHG.
tretan, Icel. tro?a, Sw. tr[*a]da, tr[aum]da, Dan. tr[ae]de,
Goth. trudan, and perhaps ultimately to F. tramp; cf. Gr. ? a
running, Skr. dram to run. Cf. Trade, Tramp, Trot.]
1. To set the foot; to step.
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Where'er you tread, the blushing flowers shall rise.
--Pope.
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Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. --Pope.
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The hard stone
Under our feet, on which we tread and go. --Chaucer.
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2. To walk or go; especially, to walk with a stately or a
cautious step.
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Ye that . . . stately tread, or lowly creep.
--Milton.
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3. To copulate; said of birds, esp. the males. --Shak.
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To tread on or To tread upon.
(a) To trample; to set the foot on in contempt. "Thou
shalt tread upon their high places." --Deut. xxxiii.
29.
(b) to follow closely. "Year treads on year."
--Wordsworth.
To tread upon the heels of, to follow close upon. "Dreadful
consequences that tread upon the heels of those allowances
to sin." --Milton.
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One woe doth tread upon another's heel. --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Tread \Tread\, n.
1. A step or stepping; pressure with the foot; a footstep;
as, a nimble tread; a cautious tread.
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She is coming, my own, my sweet;
Were it ever so airy a tread,
My heart would hear her and beat. --Tennyson.
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2. Manner or style of stepping; action; gait; as, the horse
has a good tread.
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3. Way; track; path. [R.] --Shak.
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4. The act of copulation in birds.
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5. (Arch.) The upper horizontal part of a step, on which the
foot is placed.
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6. (Fort.) The top of the banquette, on which soldiers stand
to fire over the parapet.
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7. (Mach.)
(a) The part of a wheel that bears upon the road or rail.
(b) The part of a rail upon which car wheels bear.
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8. (Biol.) The chalaza of a bird's egg; the treadle.
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9. (Far.) A bruise or abrasion produced on the foot or ankle
of a horse that interferes. See Interfere, 3.
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