Etimology
From Middle English waiten, from Anglo-Norman waiter, waitier (compare French guetter from Old French gaitier, guaitier), from Frankish *wahtwēn (“to watch, guard”), derivative of Frankish *wahtu (“guard, watch”), from Proto-Germanic *wahtwō (“guard, watch”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“to be fresh, cheerful, awake”). Cognate with Old High German wahtēn (“to watch, guard”), German Low German wachten (“to wait”), Dutch wachten (“to wait, expect”), French guetter (“to watch out for”), Saterland Frisian wachtje (“to wait”), West Frisian wachtsje (“to wait”), North Frisian wachtjen (“to stand, stay put”). More at watch. In some senses, merged or influenced by Middle English waiten, weiten (“to do good to, lie in wait for, to contrive good or harm on, catch, snare”), from Old Norse veita (“to give help to, assist, grant, cause to happen”), from Proto-Germanic *waitijaną (“to show, guide, advise, direct”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”). Largely overtook native Middle English biden, from Old English bīdan.
verb
wait (third-person singular simple present waits, present participle waiting, simple past and past participle waited)
(transitive, now rare) To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)
(intransitive) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
(intransitive, stative, US) To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
(transitive, obsolete) To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
(obsolete) To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
(obsolete, colloquial) To defer or postpone (especially a meal).
(obsolete, except in phrases) To watch with malicious intent; to lie in wait
(intransitive) To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence.
Examples
to wait one’s turn
Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, / And wait with longing looks their promised guide.
The Court had assembled, to wait events, in the huge antechamber known as the Œil de Boeuf.
Wait here until your car arrives.
They also serve who only stand and wait.
Haste, my dear father; 'tis no time to wait.
No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
The South London tramway replacement will have to wait, possibly five years, because of the slowing down of bus manufacture due to national requirements.
She used to wait in this joint.
He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all / His warlike troops, to wait the funeral.
Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, / And everlasting anguish be thy portion.
Montague Thorold, who impatiently watched her wherever she went, came to tell her that his mother waited breakfast for her.
She did not question him. Before leaving, she asked only, "When will I see you again?" He answered, "I don't know. Don't wait for me, Dagny. Next time we meet, you will not want to see me."
I will wait / Even if it takes forever / I will wait / Even if it takes a lifetime
Related words
synonyms
(delay until): await, wait for; See also Thesaurus:wait for
(delay until some event): hold one's breath; See also Thesaurus:wait
(serve customers): wait on, wait upon, serve
(attend with ceremony or respect): bestand, serve, tend; See also Thesaurus:serve
(attend as a consequence): attend, escort, go with
(defer or postpone): defer, postpone; See also Thesaurus:procrastinate
(remain celibate):
noun
wait (plural waits)
A delay.
An ambush.
(computing) Short for wait state.
(obsolete) One who watches; a watchman.
(in the plural, obsolete, UK) Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
(in the plural, UK) Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.]
Examples
I had a very long wait at the airport security check.
They lay in wait for the patrol.
an enemy in wait
[…] as he returned home to his owne house, the waits should sound the hautboies all the way
Hark! are the waits abroad?
The sound of the waits, rude as may be their minstrelsy, breaks upon the mild watches of a winter night with the effect of perfect harmony.
Related words
related terms
wake
watch
interjection
wait
(informal) Tells the other speaker to stop talking, typing etc. for a moment.
Examples
Wait. Stop talking for a moment while I get my head straight.