Wade

Wade is a word with several distinct uses. The primary sense is as a verb meaning to walk through water that is shallow or to cross a body of water by stepping into it. The noun form can refer to the act itself or to a shallow place in a river or stream where one can cross.

As a proper name, Wade functions as both a given name and a surname in English-speaking countries. Notable people with the given name Wade include Wade Boggs, a Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player; Wade Robson, a dancer and choreographer; Wade Barrett, the stage name of British professional wrestler Stuart Bennett; and Wade Phillips, an American football coach. In fiction, Wade Watts is the protagonist of Ready Player One, and Wade Wilson is the real name of the Marvel character Deadpool.

Geographically, Wade is the name of several places in the United Kingdom and the United States, including towns and communities that bear Wade as a toponym.

In history and law, the Wade-Davis Bill was a Reconstruction-era proposal introduced in 1864 by Senator Benjamin Wade and Representative Henry Winter Davis, intended to set conditions for the reintegration of Southern states after the Civil War.

The term also appears in various cultural and linguistic contexts, including as a surname in other languages and in fictional works. Wade can thus refer to an action, a personal name, a place, or a historical legal proposal, depending on context.