wait

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
2. (US, intransitive, stative) To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
3. (archaic, transitive) To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)
4. (obsolete, transitive) To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
5. (obsolete) To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
6. (colloquial, obsolete) To defer or postpone (especially a meal).
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.

Noun

1. A delay.
2. An ambush.
3. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of wait state.
4. (obsolete) One who watches; a watchman.
5. (UK, in-plural, obsolete) Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
6. (UK, in-plural) Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen.

Intj

Tells the other speaker to stop talking, typing etc. for a moment, often to allow clarification.

Synonyms

await

expect

wait for

abide

stay

stop

🛑

delay

waiting

hold on

bide

anticipate

patient

pause

tarry

look forward to

guard

💂

wait a minute

watch

⌚

stand

remain

hang on

expectation

waitress

be patient

have patience

stay for

hold off

hope

serve

hold

halt

look

attend

look for

exist

equal

just a minute

dwell

wait on

time lag

stand still

hold back

reside

rest

postponement

ok

🆗

linger

keep watch

temporizing

don’t move

Translations

attendre

esperar

warten

aspettare

wachten

esperar

aguardar

aguardar

esperar

attendere

erwarten

espera

patienter

περιμένω

Pronounced as (IPA)

/weɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: waiten

Cognate with French: guetter

Cognate with Old French: gaitier

Cognate with Old High German: wahtēn

Cognate with Dutch: wachten

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: wachtje

Cognate with Western Frisian: wachtsje

Cognate with Northern Frisian: wachtjen

In summary

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.