From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
waiting
adj : being and remaining ready and available for use; "waiting
cars and limousines lined the curb"; "found her mother
waiting for them"; "an impressive array of food ready
and waiting for the guests"; "military forces ready and
waiting" [syn: {ready and waiting(p)}]
n : the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while
expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him"
[syn: wait]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Wait \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.]
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1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.]
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"But [unless] ye wait well and be privy,
I wot right well, I am but dead," quoth she.
--Chaucer.
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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.
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All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till
my change come. --Job xiv. 14.
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They also serve who only stand and wait. --Milton.
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Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait.
--Dryden.
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To wait on or To wait 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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Waiting \Wait"ing\,
a. & n. from Wait, v.
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In waiting, in attendance; as, lords in waiting. [Eng.]
Waiting gentlewoman, a woman who waits upon a person of
rank.
Waiting maid, Waiting woman, a maid or woman who waits
upon another as a personal servant.
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