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Wait

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wait¹

  • /weɪt/
  • /weɪt/ US
  • [weɪ̯ʔt] US
  • /wɛjʈ/ South Asia
  • /weʈ/ South Asia

Sounds like weight · Rhymes with -eɪt

Where it comes from

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, source of bide.

verb waits · waiting · waited · wait

  1. intransitive To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness. Wait here until your car arrives.
  2. US, intransitive, stative To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment. She used to wait in this joint.
  3. archaic, transitive To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.) to wait one’s turn
  4. obsolete, transitive To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect. He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all / His warlike troops, to wait the funeral.
  5. obsolete To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
  6. colloquial, obsolete To defer or postpone (especially a meal). Montague Thorold, who impatiently watched her wherever she went, came to tell her that his mother waited breakfast for her.
  7. obsolete To watch with malicious intent; to lie in wait
  8. intransitive To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence. 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."

Similar: await, wait for, serve, tend, postpone, abide, back that train up, bide, bide one's time, expect, hang on, hold on

noun waits · waight

  1. A delay. I had a very long wait at the airport security check.
  2. An ambush. They lay in wait for the patrol.
  3. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of wait state.wait state
  4. obsolete One who watches; a watchman.
  5. UK, in plural, obsolete Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians. […]as he returned home to his owne house, the waits should sound the hautboies all the way
  6. UK, in plural Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. Hark! are the waits abroad?

interjection waight

  1. informal Tells the other speaker to stop talking, typing etc. for a moment, often to allow clarification. - And so I went upstairs— - Wait. Your house has two floors?

Wait²

Where it comes from

English surname, variant of Waite.

proper noun Waits

  1. A surname.

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