| 释义 |
▪ I. tread, n.|trɛd|
Forms: 3 (pl.) treden, treoden; 5 trede, tredd, (5–7 Sc.) tred; 6 Sc. treade, 9 n. dial. treed, s.e. dial. trade, 6– tread.
[Early ME. trede (pl. treden), f. stem of OE. tredan to tread. Cognate with MDu. trēde m. and f., MLG. trēde, tret m., MHG. trit, Ger. tritt step, footstep, path, etc.; cf. also, from same root, trade, between which and tread in their earlier senses there is a close parallelism; see also trod.]
I.
1. A footprint; the mark made in treading. rare.
a1225Ancr. R. 380 [He] scheaweð in ham his owene treden þet me trodde him in ham. Ibid., Auh þe dunes underuoð þe treden [v.r. (MS. Titus 120) trodes] of him suluen. c1230Hali Meid. 15 He[e] seð þe folhen hire treoden. Meiden gan as heo dude. 1727Bradley's Fam. Dict. s.v. Animal, An Otter's Tread is almost like that of a Badger, saving that his Toes..are longer one than another.
†2. A line of footsteps; the track or trail left by the steps or passage of a man or animal: = trade n. 2. Obs.
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 1006 When he was comen to that stede, Ther he saw the schepes trede. 1513Douglas æneis viii. iv. 67 And, that thar tred suld na way be persaue, Onto his cave ay bakwartis by the talis To turn thair futsteppis he thaim harlis and tralis. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. x. 340 Sum saw him weill, and followit his hors tred. 1570Henry's Wallace v. 136 For thair sloith hund the graith gait till him ȝeid, Off othir tred [c 1470 trade] scho tuk as than no heid. 1727–41Chambers Cycl., Piste, in the manage, the track or tread, which a horse makes upon the ground he goes over. 1815Scott Guy M. xxiii, He passed a solitary house, towards which the horseman..had apparently turned up, for his horse's tread was evident in that direction. 1820― Monast. xxxiv, I tracked the knight's horse-tread as far as near to the ford.
†3.
a. A trodden or beaten way, a path, a track. Obs. exc.b. fig. path or way (of life or action).
14..Bone Flor. 1882 Sche fonde a tredd and forthe ys gon..To a noonre. 1628Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] xiii. 35 We wander in the tread of seuerall paths. a1711Ken Psyche Poet. Wks. 1721 IV. 229 When Jesus journy'd too and fro,..The Female Vot'ries by you lead [= led] Still follow'd his instructive Tread. a1862Buckle Civiliz. (1869) III. iii. 132 Conditions which determine the tread and destiny of nations.
†c. Those who are on the ordinary way; the common ‘run’ of passers. Cf. trade n. 1 b. Obs.
1615Chapman Odyss. xvii. 748 That the bread, Which now he begg'd amongst the common tread.
4. a. The action or an act of treading or trampling; a step.
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 13440 Thei drow him fro her hors tred. 1640R. Chamberlain Pref. Verses in Brome Antipodes, On th' Antipodes..tis thus, Their feet do tread against the tread of us. 1671J. Flavel Fount. Life v. 12 The least Tread awry may ingulph us in the Bogs of Error. 1733W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 15 The tread of the Sheep makes this Ground turn before the Plow in a clotty Substance. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms ii. 379 Thy noiseless tread..Fell soft as snow on snow. 1823J. F. Cooper Pioneers xxxviii, Louisa was startled by the low, cracking, but cautious treads, of some one approaching through the bushes. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop i, That incessant tread of feet wearing the rough stones smooth and glossy. 1843J. Smith Forest Trees 64 He gives a tread with his foot to render it firm. 1878M. A. Brown Nadeschda 18 She followed with her ears his tread.
b. Manner of treading; hence, style of walking.
1609Old Meg of Herefordsh. (1816) 10 Howe doe you like this Morris-daunce of Hereford-shire?.. Haue they not the right footing? the true tread? 1727Pope Lament. Glumdalclitch 67 How wast thou wont to walk with cautious tread. 1812Byron Ch. Har. i. lxxiv, The ground, with cautious tread, is traversed o'er. 1840R. S. Hawker Cornish Ball., etc. (1908) 89 Pause and move onward with obedient tread. 1850Mrs. Browning Dead Pan xi, Where O Juno, is the glory Of thy regal look and tread? 1881M. E. Herbert Edith 7 She had the tread of an Empress.
c. transf. The quality or kind of the thing trodden upon; the sensation produced by treading on something (considered as an attribute of the thing). rare.
1819Keats Lamia 181 A sloping green of mossy tread.
II.
5. Course or manner of action; way of acting; esp. a habitual course; practice, custom; = trade n. 3, 3 c. Chiefly Sc.
Tred is still the ordinary Sc. dial. word in all these senses = trade n., senses 3–9.
1562Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 212 Gif the tred wer nocht samekle usit be the inhabitantis of this realme. a1572Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 410 Quhat tred and ordour of doctrine thay have keipitt. 1572Satir. Poems Reform. xxxiv. 10, I doe espy The Scottisch tred and nauchtie fassioun To be so bad. 1579Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 146 Following the bludie treade quhilk they and thair foirbearis of the same name had used of befoir. 1817G. Chalmers Churchyard's Chips Pref. 14 Three years..he saw the Emperor's wars: then homeward drew, as was his wonted tread. Mod. Sc. Ye mauna mak a tred o' gangin' there.
6. Regular occupation or business: = trade n. 5. Sc.
1584Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 706 That na honest merchand..may peciablie travell nor use tred. 1588Ibid. IV. 303 His Majesteis..subjectis ar havelie opprest and the tred of fisheing..gritlie impedit. 1596Sc. Acts Jas. VI (1816) IV. 100/1 The following of ane lauchfull tred. 1603Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 513/2 Cum libertate exercendi the tred and traffique of merchandrice. 1657Scott. Convention Rec. III. 440 The whole tread only competent to merchandis of free burrowis. Mod. Sc. What's the man's tred? This weather is bad for tred. The tred o' the toon.
7. Coming and going; resort; intercourse; also, fuss, work; = trade n. 7 a, 7 b, 7 c. Sc. rare.
1567Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 510 Having dalie and continewall tred with the inhabitantis. 1591Ibid. IV. 627 Not onlie sall thair tred in thai pairtis be cutt of, bot a cruell wear salbe denunceit aganis his majestie. Mod. Sc. What a tred aboot getting them off!
III. 8. a. Farriery. A bruise or wound of the coronet of a horse's foot, caused by setting one foot upon the other, or by over-reaching.
1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 62 The skinne wrapped about a horse's foot, that hath a tread, helpeth the same. 1754Bartlet Farriery xxxix. (ed. 2) 313 A quittor..arises often from treads and bruises. 1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 5) I. 451 Quittor..a severe tread, which the horse accidentally inflicts upon itself in its endeavours to avoid falling upon its sides. 1894Northumbld. Gloss. s.v. Treed, When a horse has injured himself by setting one foot on another he is said to have ‘getten a treed’.
b. An act of treadling or pedalling a machine.
1680Moxon Mech. Exerc. x. 188 Keeping exact time in Treads,..the Workman gives a quick Tread upon the Treddle. 1790A. Wilson Poems & Lit. Prose (1876) II. 243 Whene'er the smooth tread I apply My shopmates deplore how I've sped.
9. a. The action of the male bird in coition. b. The cicatricula or chalaza of an egg; = treadle n. 3.
a.1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. World 124 An egg,..a thing that sprang from the impetus of the tread,..to be what 'tis, after laid by the Hen. 1725Bradley's Fam. Dict. II. P ij b/2 A Hen..will lay Eggs without the Tread of the Cock, but these Eggs..are good for nothing to hatch. 1765Treat. Dom. Pigeons 23 She will squat, and readily receive his tread, by which she is rendered prolific.
b.1593Southwell St. Peter's Compl. 51 Kill bad Chickins in the tread. 1647Husbandman's Plea agst. Tithes 40 Whether the Cocks tread.. be in every egge. 1796H. Glasse Cookery xx. 311 Strain off your eggs from the treads. 1871Huxley Anat. Vertebr. Anim. (1882) 9 A patch of primary tissue;..the so-called cicatricula, or ‘tread’, which is observable in the new-laid egg, is of this nature.
10. Various technical senses.
a. The flat under side of the foot or of a shoe, which comes into contact with the ground in treading; the sole. b. A wheel track, a rut (dial.); the transverse distance between the two wheels of a cart or other vehicle; also, the width between the pedals of a bicycle or tricycle; the outer surface of a wheel, tire, or sledge runner; spec. the thick moulded surface of a pneumatic tyre, which runs in contact with the ground (as opp. to the sidewalls); cf. retread n. 1; also, the rail surface on which the wheel bears. c. A shaped plate of iron worn under the hollow of the shoe to protect it in digging; a tramp. d. Shipbuilding: see quot. c 1850. e. The projecting foot-rest or step of a stilt (Cassell's Encycl. Dict. 1888). f. The upper side of the bed of a lathe between the headstock and back-centre (Knight Dict. Mech. 1877).
a.c1720W. Gibson Farrier's Guide i. v. (1738) 76 The..Plantaris, or Muscle of the Soal or Tread. 1898J. Hutchinson in Arch. Surg. IX. No. 36. 337 The symptom..was pain under the tread of his left foot.
b.1735–6Pegge Kenticisms, Tread, a wheel-tread, rut, tract [i.e. track]. 1765Museum Rust. IV. lix. 248 It would be less material what breadth the wheels themselves were of, so that their tread be flat. Ibid. 249 If carts were to have the distance of their [wheels] either equal to the greatest or least tread of the waggons, it would generally help to preserve and commode the roads. 1797J. Curr Coal Viewer 25 Plain turn plates. Used for going round a turn. The trod or tread of these [tram-]plates are 4 inches broad. 1844Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1163 This standard..has..been fixed at 4 feet 4 inches between the tread of the wheels. 1875Sussex Gloss. s.v. Trades, ‘You will never get your carriage down that laine, for it can't take the trades’. 1887Bury & Hillier Cycling 346 To keep ‘the tread’ of the machines, i.e. the width from pedal to pedal as narrow as possible. 1897Cycl. Tour. Cl. Gaz. Sept. 399 A large hob⁓nail..in the middle of the tread [of a pneumatic tire]. 1902C. L. Freeston in A. C. Harmsworth Motors & Motor-Driving 237 The Collier{ddd}this type is provided with an unusually stout tread. 1913Sci. Amer. 11 Jan. 53/1 The tread is made up independently of the tire by laying up narrow strips of rubber..in such a way that the center of the tread is thicker than the edges. 1929Rubber & Tyre Rev. Jan. 148/1 On pneumatic tyres for buses an average of 6,000 miles per 1/8 in. tread thickness can be safely assumed. 1964Amer. Speech XXXIX. 275 Tread, n., the outer, final component of the assembled tire. It is made up of the cap which contacts the road surface and the sidewall. 1982M. Russell Rainblast iv. 28 People come along fast... The treads find they've a little extra to do.
c.1842Loudon Suburban Hort. 133 To save the shoes of the operator, a plate of iron about two inches broad, with leather straps, called a tread, is tied to his shoe.
d.c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 156 Tread of the keel, the whole length of the keel upon a straight line.
11. a. The horizontal upper surface of a step in a stair; also, the width of this from front to back; also, each of the rungs of a ladder.
1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 125 Each Step may have 15 or 16 Inches Tread, to five or six Inches Rise. 1791Smeaton Edystone L. (1793) §88 There was but one flat or tread of a step above the center of the house. 1833Loudon Encycl. Archit. §239 One inch and a quarter oak treads with rounded nosings. 1838Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 268/1 Ladders were of..rude construction..formed of two uprights with nailed treads or rounds on the face. 1884Health Exhib. Catal. 49/1 Terra Cotta steps, with patent silicon treads. 1884F. T. Hodgson Stair-building 12 Wall strings are the supporters of the ends of the treads and risers.
b. Fortif. A terrace at the back of a parapet, on which the defenders stand to fire over the parapet.
1834–47J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. (1851) 3 The tread of the banquette..is made 3 feet wide, when the parapet is to be defended by a single rank. 1853Stocqueler Milit. Encycl., Tread, of a banquette, the upper and flat surface on which the soldier stands whilst firing over the parapet.
c. Geomorphol. The approximately horizontal part of each of the step-like parts of a glacial stairway or similar landform.
1904[see stairway b]. 1930F. E. Matthes Geol. Hist. Yosemite Valley 95/2 Rock structure, or, more broadly, rock resistance,..determines in large measure at what points in a given canyon the individual sills and treads shall develop. 1954Jrnl. Glaciol. II. 421 Fig. 2..shows a roche moutonnée of step-like form... The contrast between the smoothed upper tread and the irregular ‘plucked’ riser can be seen. 1968R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 467/1 Where the overdeepened treads are undrained, there are rock-cut depressions or partly moraine-dammed pools... They are known as paternoster lakes.
IV.
12. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 4) tread-mire; (sense 10 b) tread cover, tread rubber, tread surface; † tread-behind, a doubling; an evasion, artifice, shift; tread-board, the tread of a step = sense 11; also, each of the steps in a treadmill; † tread-fowl, the male bird; cf. 9 a; tread plate, (a) a footplate or runner which forms or protects the step on a vehicle; (b) (see quot. 1967); tread-road (dial.): see quot.; cf. tread-way; treadsman = treader; † treadsole, a door-sill; tread-steps, carriage-steps with flat treads; tread-trap Archæol., a wooden device for trapping an animal by the foot; † tread-way, a roadway, thoroughfare. See also treadmill, tread-wheel.
1844S. Naylor Reynard the Fox 20 His tricks and traps and *tread-behinds.
1908Westm. Gaz. 16 Nov. 5/3 As regards the round and square *tread covers their imperviousness to cutting by flints [etc.].
c1386Chaucer Monk's Prol. 57 Thou woldest han been a *tredefowel aright.
1888G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 105 Stanches, starches Squadroned masks and manmarks *treadmire toil there Footfretted in it.
1949Automobile & Carriage Builders' Jrnl. CIV. 59 (heading) P-G-P aluminium *tread⁓plate. 1967Gloss. Sanitation Terms (B.S.I.) 57 Tread plate. 1. Glazed ceramic, or other hard wearing, edging to the floor finish adjacent to the channel of a urinal. 2. Glazed ceramic, or other hard wearing, non-slip footrests on each side of a squatting W.C. pan.
1894Northumbld. Gloss., *Treed-road, a beaten path.
1909Westm. Gaz. 1 June 4/2 The rubber used in their non-skid is not ordinary ‘*tread’ rubber.
1519W. Horman Vulg. 237 The iewest..that the *tredisman..brouseth out of the grapis.
c1546Joye in Bp. Gardiner Declar. 14 The *tredsole or groundsole whereupon..the dore is turned and returned.
1837W. B. Adams Carriages 87 *Tread Steps, for the coachman to mount by.
1896Godey's Mag. Apr. 347/1 The *tread surface of the canvas tube was covered with two or three layers of the sheet rubber.
1952J. G. D. Clark Prehist. Europe ii. 51 A type of *tread-trap..appearing for the first time in the Late Bronze Age..symbolizes the part still played by trapping in the closing stages of European prehistory.
1630T. Westcote Devon. ii. xxiii. (1845) 187 For whose more christian-like burial there is (in a spacious large *tread-way near the place of execution) a plot of ground enclosed with strong stone walls.
Hence ˈtreaded a. [-ed2], of a tyre: having or furnished with a moulded tread; treadless a. [-less], having no tread or treads (esp. of tyres).
1906Westm. Gaz. 6 Mar. 4/2 The substitution of single pneumatic tyres for the present double-treaded ones. 1968A. Diment Great Spy Race x. 186 The treadless tyres teetered on tiptoe across the road. 1973‘D. Rutherford’ Kick Start vi. 139 The bike canting at a steep angle, we were holding on to the road surface by the treaded edge of the competition tyre. 1974Observer 3 Nov. (Colour Suppl.) 27/2 Wearing treadless shoes, [we] were let into a dusty attic with a forged key. Another prisoner followed us, replacing anything we might move.
▪ II. tread, v.|trɛd|
Pa. tense trod |trɒd|, arch. trode |trəʊd|. Pa. pple. trodden |ˈtrɒd(ə)n|, trod |trɒd|. Forms: see below.
[OE. tredan (pa. tense træd, pl. trǽdon, pa. pple. treden); ME. treden (trad, trêden, treden); a Common Teut. strong vb., = OFris. treda (trad, tred, trêd-, treden), OS. tredan (trad, trâd-un, treden); MDu., MLG. trēden, Du., LG. trēden, OHG. tretan (trat, trâtun; gi-tretan), MHG., Ger. treten; Da. træde, Sw. träda, Norw. treda; OTeut. *tređ-; *trađ-, pl. *træ̂đ-; tređ-, of which a weak grade truđ- gave Goth. trudan (*traþ, *trêdum, trudans), and ON. troða (trað, tráðum; troðinn). Not certainly known outside Teutonic. In the 14th c. (in Hampole a 1340), either under Norse influence, or by assimilation to vbs. of Class IV (brecan, bræc, brocen), the pa. pple. troden (later trodden, trode, trod) began to be substituted for the original treden, although the latter in its shortened form tred(e, tread survived with some to the 17th c., and is still in dialect use. In the end of the 14th c. troden is found in the pl. of the pa. tense, and from the 16th c. trode, trod also in the sing. Ormin has a weak pa. pple. trededd for treden, and a weak pa. tense tredide, tredde appears in the later Wyclifite version. Cf. OE. treddian, OHG. trettôn, ON. treðja, OTeut. type *trađjan, perh. orig. intensive, but subseq. mixed up with the primary strong vb.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
1. inf. and pres. stem. 1 tredan, (trædan), 3–4 treden, 3–5 trede, (4 tredde), 4–7 tred, (5 tredyn, tradde), 6–8 treade, 6– tread. Inflexions 1 trædað, trides, trideð, 4 tredeth, 6 treddis.
a700Beowulf 1965 Ᵹewat him þa se hearda..sæ-wong tredan. a800Riddles viii. 1 Þonne ic hrusan trede. Ibid. lviii. 5 Trædað bearonæssas. Ibid. lxxxi. 24 Hio..grundbedd trideð. c825Vesp. Psalter xc. 13 Ðu..trides leon & dracan. a1000Ags. Ps. (Th.) lv[i]. 1 Miltsa me, Drihten, forðon me man tredeð. c1200Ormin 11946 Godess þeowwess gan onn himm & tredenn himm wiþþ fote. a1340Hampole Psalter vii. 5 Þe enmy..tred [conculcet] in erth my lyf. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2160 The harde stoon..on which we trede and goon. 1388Wyclif Rom. xvi. 20 God of pees tredde Sathanas vndur ȝoure feet. c1440Tradde [see B. 11]. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §21 Let hym beware, that he trede not to moche vppon the corne. 1535Coverdale Job xl. 7 Treade all the vngodly vnder thy fete. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 108 Thow sall..tred on the cruell Cocketrice. 1567Sc. Acts Jas. VI (1814) III. 41 Þame þat treddis hairis in þe snaw. 1570Levins Manip. 206/1 To Treade, go, gressus ponere. 1583Babington Commandm. viii. (1590) 354 Vntoothsome is that trueth euer, that treadeth downe my liking. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. ix. 27 Which..under foot doth tread The mightie ones [rime dread].
2. pa. tense. (α) 1 træd, 2–5 trad; 3–5 tradd, 4–5 trade, 5 tradde. (β) 6 Sc. tred, (8 tread). (γ) 6–9 trode, 6– trod (6 trodd). (δ) pl. 1 trǽdon, 4 trêden, (treeden), 4–5 trōden, 5 trāden, trād, 6 trood, 4– 9 trode, 6– trod. (ε) (weak conj.) 4 treddede, pl. trediden, tredden, 5 treyde, 20 treaded (only in phr. treaded water: see sense 7).
αa700Beowulf 1882 Beowulf þanan..græs-moldan træd. c1200Ormin 2561 Forr ȝho tradd deofell unnderrfot. 1388Wyclif Ecclus. xxiv. 11 Y trad bi vertu on the neckis of all excelent men. 1470–85Malory Arthur xix. iv. 778 His hors..trade his [own] guttes..vnder his feet. 1481Caxton Reynard xxxix. (Arb.) 105 The wulf trade forth to the foxe in grete wrath. 1484― Fables of æsop ii. xx, The oxe..thradde and thrested her [the frog] with his fote. c1489― Blanchardyn xxiv. 89 The grasse wher vpon he trad.
β1560Rolland Seven Sages 37 With feit [scho] it tred. 1737Whiston Josephus, Antiq. ii. ix. §7 Moses..tread upon it with his feet.
γ1535Coverdale 2 Kings xiv. 9 A wylde beest..ran ouer y⊇ hawthorne and trode it downe. [So 2 Chron. xxv. 18.] 1600Heywood 2nd Pt. Edw. IV, ii. iv. Wks. 1874 I. 139 Pity that ere awry she trod her shoe. 1738Gray Tasso 15 Against the stream the waves secure he trod. 1823Byron Juan vi. cxi, The way in which he trode. 1823Scott Quentin D. xxvi, One of the bravest and most noble gentle⁓men that ever trode a court.
δa1300Debate of Body & Soul 423 Ther alle þe fendes fet it trode [rime brode]. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 347 Some [birds] troden hir makes and on trees bredden [C. xiv. 166 And some treden..and on trees bredden]. 1382Wyclif 2 Kings ix. 33 The hors houes that treden [1388 to tredden] hyre. c1420Chron. Vilod. 2940, & nyst neuer where þey wenton ny trede. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 173 b/2 They trad the corne in the feldes doun. 1526Tindale Luke xii. 1 In so moche that they trood won another. 1535Coverdale 2 Kings vii. 17 The people trode [Wycl. trade] vpon him, so that he dyed. a1604Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 33 The Irish..trode not upon Scottish soile. 1715–20Pope Iliad xv. 412 The wondering crowds the downward level trod. 1850Hawthorne Scarlet L. Introd. (1879) 16 Trode the unworn street.
ε (weak) conj.1388Wyclif 2 Kings xiv. 9 The beestis..passiden, and tredden [v.r. treteden] doun the cardue. ― Luke xii. 1 So that thei treden [v.rr. treeden, traden, trediden; 1382 troden] ech on othir. 1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) VII. 9 His feete..with whom he treyde [L. pulsaverat] the tumbe of blissede Odo. 1944Stars & Stripes (London ed.) 1 May 3 While Huie and four crewmen clambered into the liferaft, three others treaded water for three hours before succeeding in blowing up another raft by lung power. 1947H. E. Bates Purple Plain x. 113 He treaded water for a moment or two. 1974J. Irving 158-Pound Marriage viii. 193 He said nothing; he treaded water.
3. pa. pple. (α) 1–3 treden, 3–4 i-trede, y-tredde, 6 tredden, tredd(e, 6–7 Sc. tred, 7 tread. (β) 4–7 troden, (4 troddun), 6– trodden; 4 i-trode, 4–9 trode, (7 troad(e), 5– trod. (γ) (weak conj.) 3 (Orm.) trēdedd.
αa900tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xvi. [xxii.] (1890) 224 Utworpen..&.fotum treden[e] & in eorðan ᵹehwyrfde wæron. c1315Shoreham Poems i. 821 Namore ne greueþ hyt ihesus Þane sonne [? stone] itrede in felþe. c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xxiv, If ye se it [the lair] gret and brode and wele ytredde. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 208 They under foote are tred. c1520M. Nisbet N. Test. in Scots, Rev. xiv. 20 The lake was treddin [1388 Wyclif, troddun] without the citee. 1549Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Rom. 31 Lye they on the grounde and are tredde vnderfoote. 1580Sidney Ps. xxxi. vi, Like a broken pott, in myer tredd. 1600Hamilton Facile Traictise Ded., Brocht in contempt and tred vnderfut. 1608Topsell Serpents (1658) 619 The Water-nep..which under-foot is tread [rime bed]. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 86 Being trampled and tread upon.
βa1340Hampole Psalter xvii. 42 Þai sall be troden vndire my luf. c1350Will. Palerne 3402 Wit here horse troden. 1600Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 821 The Percies with it troden under foot. 1614T. Adams in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. xiii. 5 Are trodden down by the poor.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 379 Hym semede þat he [a cross] was nouȝt worþy to be trode [Caxton, trede] wiþ his feet. Ibid. VIII. 113 His baner was i-trode in þe fen. 1607Topsell Hist. Four-f. Beasts (1658) 234 Hens do lay egges being not troad by a Cock. 1614Earl Stirling Domes-Day iii. lxxx, Their empty channels may be troad on dry. 1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 359 To haue..trod vnder foot the Law of God. 1725Pope Odyss. v. 124 By mighty Jove's command..have I trod this pleasing land. 1774Beattie Minstr. ii. vi, Which heretofore his foot had never trode.
γc1200Ormin 5728 Beo trededd dun.
B. Signification.
1. a. trans. To step upon; to pace or walk on (the ground, etc.); to walk in (a place); hence, to go about in (a place, etc.).
a700[see A. 1]. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. x. 101 Selden Moseþ þe Marbelston þat men ofte treden. 1382Wyclif Deut. xi. 24 Eche place that ȝoure foot tredith, shal be ȝour. 1591Troub. Raigne K. John (1611) 26 Treading my Confines with thy armed troupes. 1594? Greene Selimus Wks. (Grosart) XIV. 212 Then let our winged coursers tread the winde. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 543 He who treads the bleak Meotian Strand. 1729G. Adams tr. Sophocles, Oedip. Colon. i. v. II. 102 The Goddesses..whose Ground you have trod. 1802Wordsw. Sonn. ‘Here, on our native soil’, 'Tis joy enough and pride For one hour's perfect bliss, to tread the grass Of England once again. 1823Chalmers Serm. I. 397 As hardy adventurers as ever trode the desert in quest of novelty. 1837W. Irving Capt. Bonneville II. 53 The trapper stands..and gazes upon a promised land which his feet are never to tread.
b. Phrases. to tread the stage (tread the boards), to act upon the stage, to follow the profession of an actor (also fig. to write stage-plays). to tread † clay, tread this earth, tread shoe-leather, to be alive, to live; to tread the deck, to be on board ship, be a sailor; to tread the ground, to walk.
1691G. Langbaine Acc. Eng. Dram. Poets 465 Shakespear by him reviv'd now treads the Stage. 1700Dryden Flower & Leaf 182 Methought she trod the ground with greater grace. 1711Steele Spect. No. 22 ⁋2 One that never trod the Stage before. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. xiii. 274 As skilful seamen as ever trod a deck. 1789Burns To Dr. Blacklock x, She is a dainty chuckie, As e'er tread clay. 1825Scott Talism. xxiv, The steeds..chafed on the bit, and trod the ground more proudly. 1828J. T. Smith Bk. Rainy Day (1861) 255 A better man never trod shoe-leather. 1858Lytton What will he do i. viii, She had never then trod the boards. 1868Freeman Norm. Conq. II. viii. 164 No man that ever trod this earth was ever endowed with greater natural gifts.
2. a. To step or walk upon or along; to follow, pursue (a path, track, or road); also fig.
a700Beowulf 1353 On weres wæstmum wræc-lastas træd. 1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. To Rdr., I will not cease..treading the paths of labour. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 517 The downward track he treads. 1754Chatham Lett. Nephew vi. 40 Those who have trod the paths of the world before them. 1841James Brigand xix, I never forget a path I have once trodden. 1884W. H. White Mark Rutherford's Deliverance viii. (1892) 111 Yet he treads his path undisturbed.
b. † to tread a person's steps (fig.), to walk in the steps of, follow the example of (obs.); to tread back one's steps (fig.), to retrace one's steps (now rare or obs.).
1579W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue 100 To..tread the steppes of Gods sonne. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. ii. 117 S. Philip..was fastened to the Crosse, and stoned to death, treading the steps both of his Master, and of Stephen. a1704T. Brown Ess. on Women Wks. 1711 IV. 152 They tread the Steps of their Parents, meerly by instinct. 1752Foote Taste Ded. (ed. 4) 6 In the following Sheets her Steps have been trode with an undeviating Simplicity. 1777Priestley Matt. & Spir. (1782) I. i. 7 The philosophical part of the world [may] tread back their steps. 1831D. E. Williams Life & Corr. Sir T. Lawrence I. 243 We must tread back our steps.
†c. to tread the feet of, to trace the footprints of. Sc. Obs. rare.
1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. vi. (S.T.S.) I. 350 To schue thrie suofte horses backward, that..the persewer..mycht not find how to tred the horses fute rycht.
d. to tread a measure, † tread a dance, etc., to go through a dance in a rhythmic or stately manner; to go through in dancing; so to tread a march. arch. and poet.
1577Grange Golden Aphrod. M ij b, After these came Silenus..treadyng the hornpype. 1580H. Gifford Gilloflowers (Grosart) 118 Thrice happy is their chaunce, That never knew to treade the lover's daunce. 1590Greene Orl. Fur. Wks. (Rtldg.) 90/1 That did but Venus tread a dainty step. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 1148 Teaching decrepit age to tread the measures. 1808Scott Marm. v. xii, ‘Now tread we a measure!’ said young Lochinvar. 1810― Lady of L. ii. vii, The proud march which victors tread. 1859Jephson Brittany iii. 30 The favoured one who should tread a measure with her Imperial Majesty.
3. a. intr. To walk, go, pace; to set down the feet in walking; to step. Also said of the foot.
In quot. c 897 rendering L. terere of the Vulgate.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xlvii. 357 Aworpen mon..bicneð mid ðæm eaᵹum, & trit mid ðæm fet, & spricð mid ðæm fingre. a1400–50Alexander 1515 All þe brade stretis..þar he trede sulde. 1481Caxton Reynard xxxix. (Arb.) 105 The wulf trade forth to the foxe in grete wrath. 1535Coverdale Deut. xi. 24 All the places that the soles of youre fete treade vpon, shalbe yours. ― Ezek. xliii. 19 Y⊇ Leuites that..treade before me to do me seruyce. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iv. vii. 149 As arrant a villaine and a Iacke sawce, as euer his blacke shoo trodd vpon Gods ground. 1601― Jul. C. i. i. 29 As proper men as euer trod vpon Neats Leather. 1632Lithgow Trav. i. 22, I haue trod foure seuerall times from end to end of it. 1748Thomson Cast. Indol. ii. xxxv, An honest sober beast, that..full softly trode. 1816Byron Prisoner of Chillon xi, Avoiding only, as I trod, My brothers' graves without a sod. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xxi. 149, I crossed the glacier, treading with the utmost caution along the combs of ice.
b. intr. In phrases, esp. in fig. sense. to tread on air, to walk buoyantly or jubilantly; cf. to walk upon air s.v. walk v.1 5 l; to tread on eggs, tread on delicate ground, tread on thin ice: see the ns.
1481Caxton Reynard xliii. (Arb.) 118 Eueriche of them tredeth in the foxes path and seketh his hole. 1580Sidney Ps. xxv. vi, He doth..teach the humble how to tread. 1668Denham Prudence Poems 147 Sense, her Vassal, in her footsteps treads. 1694F. Bragge Disc. Parables xi. 381 Misery, and shame, and repentance, always tread close at the heels of wickedness. 1709Pope Ess. Crit. 625 Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread [rime dead]. a1734North Lives (1826) I. 266 He had his jury to deal with, and if he did not tread upon eggs, they would conclude sinistrously. 1796R. M. Roche Children of Abbey I. viii. 154 Such were the ideas of the innocent and romantic Amanda; ideas, which made her seem to tread on air. a1817Jane Austen Northang. Abb. (1818) II. xi. 223 If Wednesday should ever come!.. It came—it was fine— and Catherine trod on air. 1817Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. vi. 560 On the principal ground, however, the parliament..trode nearly blindfold. 1839T. Mitchell Aristoph., Frogs 452 note, Was the author treading upon still more delicate ground than the Scholiast has imagined? 1874W. Melville Uncle J. xxii, Leaving the gaol..Mr. Lexley seemed to tread on air.
4. a. intr. To step on (something in one's way); to put the foot down upon accidentally or intentionally, esp. so as to press upon.
c1384[see b]. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xiv. 49 His courser..tradd vpon one of his armes. 1561T. Norton Calvin's Inst. iii. 274 He will come..to think it vnlawfull..to treade vpon a strawe lying a crosse. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 79 The poore Beetles that we treade upon. c1643Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 180 Finding my bare feet hurt by the stones I trod on. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xx, A body can't set their foot down without treading on 'em. 1887Bowen æneid ii. 380 When a traveller..Treads on a snake unseen.
b. Phrase. to tread on any one's heels or toes (also fig.); see the ns.
c1384Chaucer H. Fame iii. 1063 Tho behynde begunne vp lepe And clamben vp on other fast..And troden [v.r. treden] fast on other heles. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 15 To come so neere as to tread upon their heeles. 1710Addison Tatler No. 250 ⁋11 If asking Pardon is an Attonement for treading upon ones Toes? 1711Steele Spect. No. 153 ⁋1 The Cocking young Fellow who treads upon the Toes of his Elders. 1868,1879[see toe n. 5 i]. 1896Sir W. Walrond in Libr. Mag. Dec. 504 If they legislated too much they were bound to tread on somebody's toes.
c. to tread on the gas: see gas n.2
5. trans.
†a. To step or walk with pressure on (something) esp. so as to crush, beat down, injure, or destroy it; to trample. Obs. (exc. as in b.)
c825[see A. 1]. a900Fotum treden [see A. 3]. a1000Ags. Ps. (Th.) xc. 113 Þu..miht..bealde nu basiliscan tredan. a1340Hampole Psalter xxiv. 1 Wha sa ligges þare in, þe deuel tredis him. 1387[see A. 3 β]. 1535Coverdale Luke xii. 1 There were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, in so much that they trode one another. 1573–80Baret Alv. V 23 Treade a worme on the taile, and it turneth againe. 1656B. Harris Parival's Iron Age (1659) 145 He was found amongst the dead, so trodden, and tumbled..that he was hard to be known. 1712tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 160 To make 'em tight..they imploy Men to tread them [raisins] with their Feet.
b. With adverbial extension, as to tread down, tread under foot, tread in the mire, tread to the ground, tread to pieces, etc.; to tread to death, to kill by trampling.
c1200Ormin 2248 Alle þa Þatt tredenn dun & cwenkenn All þatt tatt iss onnȝæness Godd. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 206/207 Þe deoulene ornen opon hem and treden heom to þe grounde. 14..Sir Beues 1195 (MS. M.) He..tredith hym vnder his fete In the dirte. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccxxii. 739 In the thicke of the prease, they..were troden vnder fote to dethe. 1556Olde Antichrist 99 b, The B. of Rome..is not ashamed to treade y⊇ Lordes anointed neckes under his abominable feet. 1652C. B. Stapylton Herodian xix. 159 Some he kils and some he treads to Jelly. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. 79 He thought he should be..troden down like mire in the Streets. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. viii, Being trod to death like a frog or a young puppy. 1823Scott Quentin D. xvi, The wild boar of the forest, which treadeth down with his hoofs, and rendeth with his tusks.
c. fig. To crush, to oppress; to treat with contemptuous cruelty.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 21 Tredynge vnder fote & vtterly despysynge all worldly pleasure & payne. 1652in W. M. Williams Ann. Founders' Co. (1867) 32 For manie years extreamly trodden and kept under foote by the power and will of the Master. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxix, The luxuriant great ones of the world shall no more tread us to the earth. 1775S. J. Pratt Liberal Opin. xlviii. (1783) II. 66 In the city, the spirit of humanity is too often trod under feet by the spirit of trade. 1857Holland Bay Path xxix, Her memory..trodden under feet by malice, prejudice, and superstition. 1889Gretton Memory's Harkb. 163 In his early days the masses were a good deal trodden down.
d. intr. for pass. To be trampled down.
1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. ii. i, The Gironde..has trodden on it, and yet not trodden it down... It is a well-spring, as we said, this black-spot; and will not tread down.
6. intr. To trample on or upon. Also fig.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke x. 19 Ic sealde eow anweald to tredenne ofer næddran & snacan. c1330Amis & Amil. 2096 He..trad [MS. drad] on him in the slough. 1382Wyclif Luke x. 19, I have ȝouun to ȝou power of defoulinge, [gloss] othir tredinge, on serpents, and scorpiouns. c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. xiv. 82 Þat al men mowe goo over þee, and trede vppon the as vppon myre of the streete. 1590Marlowe 2nd Pt. Tamburl. iii. ii, Tread upon his neck, And treble all his father's slaveries. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. iv. (S.T.S.) I. 225 The sygne of the croce..vpon the ground, quhairthrouche feit mychte haue occasione to tred or tramp thairvpon. 1683Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 79 James Kilner Trode upon him on board the Ship. 1733Fielding Quix. in Eng. ii. i, Each man rises to admiration by treading on mankind. 1818Scott Rob Roy xxxix, A hatred as intense..as if my foot trode on your neck. 1884Pae Eustace 79 Was he a worm to be trod on thus without turning?
7. trans. To press (something) downwards with the foot or feet treadling or pedalling.
to tread water, in swimming, to move the feet as in walking upstairs, while the body is kept erect and the head above water; also fig., to withhold oneself from progressive action, to ‘mark time’.
1680Moxon Mech. Exerc. xii. 209 The nearer the Fore⁓end of the Treddle you Tread, the easier you bring down the Pole. Ibid., Tread the Treddle nimbly down. 1800Hull Advertiser 15 Nov. 4/3, I always raised myself by treading water. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxviii. (1856) 343 Seal breast-high, were treading water with their horizontal tails. 1942J. Lees-Milne Ancestral Voices (1975) 46 Although they miscalculated in assuming that the campaign would be over before last winter, they have been treading water since then, and merely keeping up their line. 1967Guardian 24 May 9 In the absence of the Secretary-General, the UN delegations were treading water. 1980N. Marsh Photo-Finish vi. 180, I am really..treading water until the police arrive.
8. a. Of the male bird: To copulate with (the hen). Also absol.
a1250Owl & Night. 501 Sone so þu hauest itrede Ne myht þu leng a word iqueþe. 1377[see A. 2 δ]. c1386Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 358 (Ellesm.) He..fethered Pertelote twenty tyme And trad [14.. Lansd. MS. trade hire] as ofte. 1599T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 24 Before the hardie Cocke Beganne to tread, or brooding henne to clocke. 1614Markham Cheap Husb. (1623) 143 If your Henne be trodden with a carryon Crow, or Rooke,..it is mortall and incurable. a1687Cotton tr. Martial iii. lviii. (1689) 59 I' th' Yards are seen, Cocks treading Rhodian Hens. 1721Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 78 It is common for Cock Pheasants to tread the Hens of common Poultry. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 165 It matters not much whether she be trodden by the cock or no; she will continue to lay. 1910A. Platt tr. Aristotle's De Generatione iii. viii. 751 When once the hens have been trodden, they all continue to have eggs almost without intermission.
b. absol. Of birds: To copulate.
1486Bk. St. Albans, Hawking a ij, We shall say that they [Hawks] trede. a1659Osborn Queries Wks. (1673) 612, I my Self have seen both Swallowes and Hobbies build and tread upon their first Appearance. 1774G. White Selborne 28 Sept., The fact that I would advance is, that swifts tread, or copulate, on the wing.
†c. trans. with out: To engender, beget (offspring). Obs. rare—1.
1594Lyly Moth. Bomb. i. i, As your Worship being wise begot a foole, so he being a foole may tread out a wise man.
9. a. trans. To thresh (corn) by trampling it on a threshing-floor: said of the oxen, etc. or of one using them; also with out. b. To press out the juice of (grapes) by trampling them in a vat. c. To tramp (clothes) in washing; see tramp v.1 3 c.
1382Wyclif Deut. xxv. 4 Thow shalt not bynde the mouth of the oxe tredinge thi fruytis in the flore. ― Isa. xvi. 10 Wyn in the presse he shal not trede, that to treden was wont; the vois of the trederes I toc awey. 1446Lydg. Two Nightingale Poems ii. 155 It is [I], quod he, that trade it al alone. Withouten felawe I gan the wyne out-presse. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 42 b, Corne..in some place they..lyke to tread it out with Oxen. 1792A. Young Trav. France 31 This universal one of treading out the corn, with which all the towns and villages in Languedoc are now alive. 1801Farmer's Mag. Aug. 313, I was long, and greatly prejudised against treading wheat. 1848Clough Bothie ii, The clothes that they trod in the wash-tub. 1871B. Taylor Faust (1875) II. i. ii. 20 Who wine desires, let him the ripe grapes tread.
10. To make or form by the action of the feet in walking; esp. to beat (a path or track). Const. out.
c1410Wele ytredde [see A. 3 α]. 1552Huloet, Tread out, exculco, as. 1563Homilies ii. Rogation Week iv. (1640) 235 The ancient terris of the fields, that old men beforetime with great paines did tread out. 1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 450 Hee that diggeth the garden, is to be considered, though he cannot treade the knottes. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. I. i. 51 Paths trodden by the footsteps of ages. 1860Tennyson Sea Dreams 117 But she with her strong feet up the steep hill Trod out a path. 1865Visct. Milton & Cheadle N.-W. Passage by Land viii. (1867) 114 A track would require to be trodden out with snow-shoes to enable the dogs to travel.
11. Horticulture. To beat down and consolidate (soil) by treading; also with plants, etc. as object.
c1440Pallad. on Husb. ii. 256 Sette hem depe..And tradde hem fast aboue. 1693Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 149 The first layer being thus compleated..the Gard'ner proceeds to lay the second, third, &c. beating them with the back of his Fork, or else treading them with his Feet. 1842Loudon Suburban Hort. 661 The ground should be previously trodden or rolled. 1845Florist's Jrnl. 31 The whole should be gently trod with the feet.
12. intr. Of land (tread loose, hence ellipt. tread): To yield or give to the tread (? as after frost). dial.
1847Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. i. 73 When the soil treads loose in the spring, it is very important to use the heavy roller, or some other means of consolidating the soil. 1891Malden Tillage 49 When once the land ‘treads’ the horses are best in the furrow. Ibid. Gloss. s.v., Land is said to tread when it puddles or poaches under the feet of the horses employed upon it.
13. a. trans. With advbs.: To get or put into or out of some position or condition by treading; esp. to put out (fire) by treading. (See also 5 b, c.)
to tread up (partridges), to flush them by walking up to the covey (? in contrast to the practice of using dogs).
1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 3 The fire..would breake out (if not troade out in time) of it selfe. c1682J. Collins Salt & Fishery 121 The Meat is..pack'd or trodden into Cask..with Salt betwixt every Lane or Lay. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 314 Trample with thy Feet, and tread it in. a1745Swift Direct. Servants iii, Throw the [candle] snuff on the floor, and then tread it out, to prevent stinking. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Cl.) 118 One of them asked..would I have my toes trode off? ‘Is your toes trode off?’ said I. 1808P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 13, I trod up the whole covey. 1847W. C. L. Martin Ox 168/1 Buried deep..with quick lime, and covered up with earth closely trodden down. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 149 The flame of civil war..was trodden out before it had time to spread. 1888J. Inglis Tent Life in Tigerland 8 The cattle had trod down all the dried leaves.
b. to tread one's shoe awry (the shoe, one's foot, amiss, etc.), to fall from chastity. See also awry A. 2 c. ? Obs. So to tread one's shoes straight, to conduct oneself circumspectly, to walk warily (dial.).
c1422Hoccleve Min. Poems xxiv. 66 No womman..But swich oon as hath trode hir shoo amis. 1520–1662 [see awry A. 2 c]. 1616R. C. Times' Whistle vi. 2541 Due pennance thou deservst to doe For tredding thus awry thy slippery shoe. 1642J. Eaton Honey-c. Free Justif. 110 If she chance to tread her foot a little awry. 1870E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. I. 112 They mun tread their shoes very straight or there'll be a row with our Squire.
Hence ˈtreading ppl. a.
1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 214 There be mo treadyng cockes then one. |