- pad (n.) - 1550s, "bundle of straw to lie on," possibly from
or related to Low German or obsolete Flemish pad "sole of the
foot," which is perhaps from PIE *pent- "to tread, go" (see find
(v.)), but cf. path (n.). Meaning "cushion-like part of an
animal foot" is from 1790 in English. Generalized sense of
"something soft" is from c.1700; the sense of "a number of
sheets fastened together" (in writing pad, drawing pad, etc.) is
from 1865. Sense of "takeoff or landing place for a helicopter"
is from 1960. The word persisted in underworld slang from early
18c. in the sense "sleeping place," and was popularized again
c.1959, originally in beatnik speech (later hippie slang) in its
original English sense of "place to sleep temporarily." - pad
(v.2) - "to stuff, increase the amount of," 1827, from pad (n.);
transferred to expense accounts, etc. from 1913. Related:
Padded; padding. Notion of a padded cell in an asylum or prison
is from 1862 (padded room). - pad (v.1) - "to walk," 1550s,
probably from Middle Dutch p