wait

Meanings

To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)
To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.
To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.
To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
To defer or postpone (especially a meal).
To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence.

A delay.
An ambush.
One who watches; a watchman.
Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.
Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.]

From Middle English waiten, wayten, from Old Northern French waiter, waitier (compare French guetter from Old French gaitier, guaitier), from Frankish *wahtwēn, *wahtijan, derivative of Frankish *wahtu, from Proto-Germanic *wahtwō, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ-. 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, North Frisian wachtjen ("to stand, stay put"). More at watch.

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