履 is largely literary or formal in modern Chinese, surviving mainly in compounds: 履行 (to fulfill — duties, contracts), 履历 (résumé/CV), 履约 (to honor an agreement), and the chengyu 如履薄冰 ("as if treading on thin ice" — to act with extreme caution).
history
Originally meant "shoe" — pre-Qin texts use 履 where later texts use 鞋 (xié). The verb sense "to tread" extended naturally from "to wear shoes", and from there to the abstract "to fulfill (a path/duty)".
