Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TREAD, v.i. [tred; pret. trod; pp. trod, trodden. Sax. trædan, tredan; Goth. trudan; D. tred, a step; treeden, to tread; G. treten; Dan. træder; Sw. tråda; Gaelic, troidh, the foot; W. troed, the foot; troediaw, to use the foot, to tread. It coincides in elements with L. trudo.]

1. To set the foot. Where'er you tread, the blushing flow'rs shall rise. – Pope. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. – Burke.
2. To walk or go. Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread, shall be yours. – Deut. xi.
3. To walk with form or state. Ye that stately tread, or lowly creep. – Milton.
4. To copulate, as fowls. – Shak. To tread or tread on; to trample; to set the foot on in contempt. Thou shalt tread upon their high places. Deut. xxxiii.