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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Wait \Wait\, noun [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch, watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See {Wait}, verb (used without an object)]
1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt.
There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican town of El Paso. --S. B. Griffin.
2. Ambush. ''An enemy in wait.'' --Milton.
3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.]
4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the singular. [Obs.] --Halliwell.
5. pl. Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [Written formerly {wayghtes}.]
Hark! are the waits abroad? --Beau. & Fl.
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.
{To lay wait}, to prepare an ambuscade.
{To lie in wait}. See under 4th {Lie}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Wait \Wait\, verb (used without an object) [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}, verb (used without an object)]
1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.]
''But [unless] ye wait well and be privy, I wot right well, I am but dead,'' quoth she. --Chaucer.
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.
All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. --Job xiv. 14.
They also serve who only stand and wait. --Milton.
Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait. --Dryden.
{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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Wait \Wait\, verb (used with an object)
1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation of; to await; as, to wait orders.
Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, And wait with longing looks their promised guide. --Dryden.
2. To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany; to await. [Obs.]
3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect. [Obs.]
He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all His warlike troops, to wait the funeral. --Dryden.
Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, And everlasting anguish be thy portion. --Rowe.
4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; -- said of a meal; as, to wait dinner. [Colloq.]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
wait
noun
1: time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the action" [syn: {delay}, {hold}, {time lag}, {postponement}]
2: the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him" [syn: {waiting}]
verb
1: stay in one place and anticipate or expect something; "I had to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets"
2: wait before acting [syn: {hold off}, {hold back}]
3: look forward to the probable occurrence of; "We were expecting a visit from our relatives"; "She is looking to a promotion"; "he is waiting to be drafted" [syn: {expect}, {look}, {await}]
4: serve as a waiter in a restaurant; "I'm waiting on tables at Maxim's"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
122 Moby Thesaurus words for "wait": abide, administer to, afterthought, attend, attend on, await, ballad singer, balladeer, bard, be patient, bear with composure, bide, bide the issue, bind, block, blockage, bureaucratic delay, care for, carry on, carry through, chore, dally, dance attendance upon, dawdle, delay, delayage, delayed reaction, detention, dillydally, do for, do service to, double take, dragging, drudge, fili, folk singer, folk-rock singer, forbear, gleeman, halt, hang about, hang around, hang-up, help, hindrance, hold everything, hold on, hold your horses, holdup, interim, jam, jongleur, lackey, lag, lagging, linger, logjam, loiter, look after, maid, mark time, minister to, minnesinger, minstrel, moratorium, obstruction, pander to, paperasserie, pause, red tape, red-tapeism, red-tapery, remain, reprieve, respite, retardance, retardation, rhapsode, rhapsodist, scop, serenader, serve, sit tight, sit up, sit up for, slow-up, slowdown, slowness, stay, stay of execution, stay up, stay up for, stick, stick around, stop, stoppage, street singer, strolling minstrel, suspension, sweat, sweat it out, sweat out, take care of, take time, tarry, tend, tie-up, time lag, troubadour, trovatore, upon, valet, wait a minute, wait and see, wait for, wait it out, wait on, wait up for, wandering minstrel, watch, watch and wait, work for
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