From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Wait \Wait\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Waited}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Waiting}.] [OE. waiten, OF. waitier, gaitier, to watch,
attend, F. guetter to watch, to wait for, fr. OHG. wahta a
guard, watch, G. wacht, from OHG. wahh[=e]n to watch, be
awake. [root]134. See {Wake}, v. i.]
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1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.]
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"But [unless] ye wait well and be privy,
I wot right well, I am but dead," quoth she.
--Chaucer.
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2. To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain
stationary till the arrival of some person or event; to
rest in patience; to stay; not to depart.
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All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till
my change come. --Job xiv. 14.
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They also serve who only stand and wait. --Milton.
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Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait.
--Dryden.
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{To wait on} or {To wait upon}.
(a) To attend, as a servant; to perform services for; as,
to wait on a gentleman; to wait on the table.
"Authority and reason on her wait." --Milton. "I must
wait on myself, must I?" --Shak.
(b) To attend; to go to see; to visit on business or for
ceremony.
(c) To follow, as a consequence; to await. "That ruin that
waits on such a supine temper." --Dr. H. More.
(d) To look watchfully at; to follow with the eye; to
watch. [R.] "It is a point of cunning to wait upon him
with whom you speak with your eye." --Bacon.
(e) To attend to; to perform. "Aaron and his sons . . .
shall wait on their priest's office." --Num. iii. 10.
(f) (Falconry) To fly above its master, waiting till game
is sprung; -- said of a hawk. --Encyc. Brit.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Wait \Wait\, v. t.
1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation
of; to await; as, to wait orders.
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Awed with these words, in camps they still abide,
And wait with longing looks their promised guide.
--Dryden.
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2. To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany;
to await. [Obs.]
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3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with
ceremony or respect. [Obs.]
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He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all
His warlike troops, to wait the funeral. --Dryden.
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Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee,
And everlasting anguish be thy portion. --Rowe.
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4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; -- said of a
meal; as, to wait dinner. [Colloq.]
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Wait \Wait\, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch,
watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See {Wait}, v. i.]
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1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt.
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There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican
town of El Paso. --S. B.
Griffin.
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2. Ambush. "An enemy in wait." --Milton.
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3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.]
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4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used
in the singular. [Obs.] --Halliwell.
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5. pl. Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early
morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical
watchmen. [Written formerly {wayghtes}.]
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Hark! are the waits abroad? --Beau. & Fl.
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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. --W.
Irving.
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{To lay wait}, to prepare an ambuscade.
{To lie in wait}. See under 4th {Lie}.
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