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. wahhēn to watch, be awake. √134. See Wake, v. i.]
1. To watch; to observe; to take notice.
“But 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 onorupon. (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. “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.