wait

wait
\ \ [12] Wait originally meant ‘look, spy’. But the notion of remaining in hiding, keeping a watch on one’s enemies’ movements led via the sense ‘remain, stay (in expectation)’ to, in the 17th century, ‘defer action’. The word was borrowed from Old Northern French waitier, which was itself a loanword from prehistoric Germanic *wakhtan (ultimate source also of English waft). This in turn was formed from the base *wak-, which also produced English wake, watch, etc. The sense ‘serve food at table’ emerged in the 16th century from an earlier ‘attend on’.
\ \ Cf.WAFT, WAKE, WATCH

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • wait — [wāt] vi. [ME waiten < NormFr waitier < Frank * wahten, to guard, akin to OHG wahta, a guard, watch: for IE base see WAKE1] 1. to stay in a place or remain in readiness or in anticipation (until something expected happens or for someone to… …   English World dictionary

  • 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wait — or WAIT may refer to: * The act of waiting, see waiting (time) * wait (command), a computer shell command * wait (operating system), an operating system system call * Wait (musician), British town pipers * Wait (song), a song by The Beatles *… …   Wikipedia

  • wait in — ˌwait ˈin [intransitive] [present tense I/you/we/they wait in he/she/it waits in present participle waiting in past tense …   Useful english dictionary

  • WAIT — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Wait, attendre en anglais, abrégé en W8, peut être retrouver dans : Wait a Minute  , divers albums musicaux, Wait for Sleep , une chanson de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wait — Wait, v. t. 1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation of; to await; as, to wait orders. [1913 Webster] Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, And wait with longing looks their promised guide. Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wait — Wait, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch, watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See {Wait}, v. i.] [1913 Webster] 1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt. [1913 Webster] There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican town of El Paso. S …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wait — (англ. ждать, подожди) может означать: В искусстве Wait  одна из песен группы «Битлз» с альбома «Rubber Soul»; Wait  песня и одноимённый сингл группы «Wang Chung». Wait песня и одноимённый сингл группы «White Lion» из альбома… …   Википедия

  • wait — ► VERB 1) stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or event. 2) be delayed or deferred. 3) (wait on/upon) act as an attendant to. 4) act as a waiter or waitress. ► NOUN 1) a period of waiting. 2) …   English terms dictionary

  • wait up — wait for me, wait until I catch up    Danny, wait up. I want to talk to you …   English idioms

  • wait on — (someone) to serve someone. She waited on customers all day at the department store. He sits there in front of the TV and expects me to wait on him! Related vocabulary: wait on someone hand and foot …   New idioms dictionary

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