Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TREAD, v.t. [tred.]

1. To step or walk on. Forbid to tread the promis'd land he saw. – Prior.
2. To press under the feet.
3. To beat or press with the feet; as, to tread a path; to tread land when too light; a well trodden path.
4. To walk in a formal or stately manner. He thought she trod the ground with greater grace. – Dryden.
5. To crush under the foot; to trample in contempt or hatred, or to subdue. – Ps. xliv. lx.
6. To compress, as a fowl. To tread the stage, to act as a stage-player; to perform a part in a drama. To tread or tread out, to press out with the feet; to press out wine or wheat; as, to tread out grain with cattle or horses. They tread their wine presses and suffer thirst. – Job xxiv.