Definition
verbTo delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
verbTo wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
Sentence Examples
I can only wait.
I don't want to wait that long.
It's frustrating to have to wait so long.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"They also serve who only stand and wait."
— 1673, John Milton, “[Sonnet] XVI. When I Consider How My Light is Spent.”, in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions, London: […] Tho[mas] Dring […], →OCLC, page 59:
"Haste, my dear father; 'tis no time to wait."
— 1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"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."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:
"The South London tramway replacement will have to wait, possibly five years, because of the slowing down of bus manufacture due to national requirements."
— 1948 March and April, “Notes and News: London Transport Plans”, in Railway Magazine, page 132:
"Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, / And wait with longing looks their promised guide."
— 1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC: