Meaning

noun a small mass of soft material

noun (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent

noun a wad of something chewable as tobacco

originProbably short for Middle English wadmal (“woolen cloth”), from Old Norse váðmál (“woolen stuff”), from váð (“cloth”) + mál (“measure”). See wadmal. Cognate with Swedish vadd (“wadding, cotton wool”), German Wat, Watte (“wad, padding, cotton wool”), Dutch lijnwaad, gewaad, watten (“cotton wool”), West Frisian waad, Old English wǣd (“garment, clothing”) (English: weed). More at weed, meal.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0