\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. wahh[=e]n to watch, be
awake. [root]134. See {Wake}, v. i.]
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 {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.

\Wait\, v. t.
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.]

\Wait\, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch,
watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See {Wait}, v. i.]
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}.