WAIT: значение слова

I. verb see: wake
Date: 14th century
transitive verb to stay in place in expectation of ; await , to delay serving (a meal), to serve as waiter for , intransitive verb

1. to remain stationary in readiness or expectation , to pause for another to catch up,

2. to look forward expectantly , to hold back expectantly , to serve at meals,

4. to be ready and available , to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized ,
Usage: American dialectologists have evidence showing wait on (sense 3) to be more a Southern than a Northern form in speech. Handbook writers universally denigrate wait on and prescribe wait for in writing. Our evidence from printed sources does not show a regional preference; it does show that the handbooks' advice is not based on current usage . One reason for the continuing use of wait on may lie in its being able to suggest protracted or irritating waits better than wait for . Wait on is less common than wait for, but if it seems natural, there is no reason to avoid it.

II. noun
Etymology: Middle English waite watchman, observation, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wahta watch
Date: 14th century


1. a hidden or concealed position, a state or attitude of watchfulness and expectancy ,

2. one of a band of public musicians in England employed to play for processions or public entertainments, b. one of a group who serenade for gratuities especially at the Christmas season, a piece of music by such a group, an act or period of waiting