Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Wade

Wade , noun

Woad. [Obsolete] — Mortimer

Wade , intransitive verb

[Old English waden to wade, to go, Anglo-Saxon wadan; akin to OFries. wada, Dutch waden, Old High German watan, Icelandic va{not transcribed}a, Swedish vada, Danish vade, Latin vadere to go, walk, vadum a ford. Compare Evade, Invade, Pervade, Waddle.]

1.
To go; to move forward. [Obsolete]
When might is joined unto cruelty, Alas, too deep will the venom wade. — Chaucer
Forbear, and wade no further in this speech. — Old Play
2.
To walk in a substance that yields to the feet; to move, sinking at each step, as in water, mud, sand, etc.
So eagerly the fiend... With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way, And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies. — Milton
3.
Hence, to move with difficulty or labor; to proceed slowly among objects or circumstances that constantly hinder or embarrass; as, to wade through a dull book.
And wades through fumes, and gropes his way. — Dryden
The king's admirable conduct has waded through all these difficulties. — Davenant

Wade , transitive verb

To pass or cross by wading; as, he waded the rivers and swamps.

Wade , noun

The act of wading. [Colloquial]