The Syrians had brought away 
she vjciitfd on Naaoian's wife. 
wait 
(/t) To be ready to serve ; do the bidding of. 
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed. Ps. xxv. 3. 
Therefore turn thou to thy God : Iteep mercy and judg- 
ment, and wait on thy God continually. Hos. xii. (i. 
(J) To attend upon as a servant ; act as attendant to ; be 
in the service of. 
a little maid ; and 
2 Ki. V. 2. 
How now, Simple ! where have you been ? I must wait 
on myself, must I? Shak., M. W. of W., i. 1. 208. 
(A) To go to see ; call upon ; visit ; attend. 
I . . . have been twice to wait upon Dr. Brady ; but 
was both times disappointed. 
Edin&nd Gibson (Ellis's Lit. Lettei-s, p. 229). 
I suppose he will be here to wait on Mrs. Malaprop as 
soon as he is dress'd. Sheridan, The Rivals, i. 2. 
(0 To escort ; accompany ; attend ; specifically, to attend 
as bridesmaid or groomsman. [Colloq.] 
Gentlemen, I beg pardon — I must wait on you down 
stairs; here is a person come on particular business. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, iv. 3. 
I used to be waitin' on her to singin' school. 
H. B. Stowe, Oldtown Stories, p. 123. 
(j) To attend or follow as a consequence ; be associated 
with; accompany. 
Now, good digestion wait on appetite. 
And health on both ! Shak., Macbeth, iii. 4. 38. 
Such silence waits on Philomela's sti-atns. 
Pope, Winter, 1. 7a 
Yet a rich guerdon teailg o» minds that dale. 
If aught be in them of immortal seed. 
Wordgworlh, Sonnets, ii. 4. 
To wait on. (On, adv.] In /afctmry, to Hy or hover aloft, 
waiting for gaine to be sprung ; said of a hawk. 
When the hawk has taken two or three pi^'eons in this 
way, and mounts immediately in expectation — in short, 
begiiu to iratt on — she should ... be tried at game. 
Encyc. Brit., IX. 9. 
n. trau.i. If. To observe; examine; take 
notice of ; expect ; watch for ; look out for. 
Nyght and day he spedde him that he can. 
To wayten a tyme of his conclusioun. 
Chaucer, Kranklin's Tale, I. 535. 
Waite what y dide to marie maudeleyne, 
And what y seide to thomas of ynde. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Fumivall), p. 165. 
2t. To plan ; scheme ; contrive. 
A [hel tbonst or he went a-way he wold 3if he mijt 
wayte hire sum wicked torn what bi-tidde after. 
William o/ Paleme (E. E. T, S.), 1. 148. 
3t. To seek. 
Than farde \ectanabus forthe fro that place ; 
Hee wendes too a wildernes A wai/ejt him erl)es. 
Alisaunder n/ Macedoine (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 808. 
4. To stay for; attend; await; expect. 
Oo wait me in the gallery. 
Beau, and FL, Maid's Tragedy, iv. 1. 
They all 
Complain aloud of Cato'a discipline, 
And wait but the command to change their master. 
Addison, Cato, i. 3. 
Then let him receive the new knowle^lge and \rait us. 
Pardoned in Heaven. Browning, Lost Leader. 
8. To defer; put off; keep waiting: said of a 
meal. [Colloq.] 
I shall go for a walk ; don't you and Heri)ert wait sup- 
per for me. T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, ii. 9. 
6t. To attend upon ; accompany ; escort. 
Most nolde consul ! let us icait him home. 
B. Joiison, Catiline, iii. 1. 
Proffering the Hind to wait her half the way ; 
Tliat. since the sky was clear, an hour of talk 
Might help her to beguile the U-dious walk. 
Oryden, Hind and Panther, 1. .^57. 
7t. To follow as a consequence of sometliing; 
attend upon. 
Such doom 
Waits luxury and lawless care of gain ! 
J. PhUips, Cider, i. 
Defend me from the Woes which Mortals wait. 
Con/jrt-ve, Hymn to Venus. 
To wait attendallce^ to remain in attendance; be on 
hand or within call. 
Wait attendance 
Till you hear further front me. 
Shak., T. of A., i 1. 161. 
wait-a-bit thorn. See under tliorn. 
waiter (wa'ter), 11. [< MK. icaitere, u-aykr, 
WKijtfr, later trattire, < OF. waitirr. guctteiir, 
etc., ijuettcr, F. i/uetter, wait: see wait, i: Cf. 
MH6. tcahtarc, icclikr, G. wachter, a watch- 
man.] It. A watcher. 
And the childe ic<!»/(«r heuede vp his eyen. and Idhelde. 
Wycli/, 2 Ki. |2 Sam.) xiii. •i4. 
2t. A watchman ; a guard or keeper. 
During this parley the insurgents had made themselves 
masters of the West Fort, rushing upon the Waiters (so 
the people were called who had tlie charge of the gates), 
and possessing themselves of the keys. 
.Scutt, Heart of Mid-Lothian, vi. 
3. One who waits; one who abidc^s in expecta- 
tion of the happening of some event, tlie arri- 
val of some appointed time, some opportunity, 
or the like. 
6805 
Waiters on Providence. Disraeli, Coningsby, ii. 4. 
4. A domestic servant. Speciflc.illy — (nt) A m.an. 
servant for rough work about a house. 
Dayly iiii other of these gromes, called wayiers, to make 
fyres, to sett up tressyls and bourdes, with yonien of 
chambre, and to help dresse the beddesof sylke and arras. 
Quoted in Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 314. 
(6t) A waiting-woman. 
Enter . . . two waiting-Avomen. 
. . . Bid your u'aiters 
Stand further off, and I'll come nearer to you. 
Mas^nr/er, Unnatural Combat, i. 1. 
(c) A man-servant who waits at table : applied more com- 
monly to those who serve in hotels or restaurants. 
Enter waiter. 
Wait. Here is a gentleman desires to speak with Mr. 
Vincent. 
Vin. I come. [Exit Vincent with Waiter. 
Wycherley, Love in a Wood, i. 2. 
Head-waiter of the chop-house here. 
To which I most resort, 
Tennyson, Will Waterproof. 
5. An officer in the employ of the British cus- 
tom-house. See coast-waihr, tide-waiter. — 6. 
A tray ; a salver. 
Just then a servant brought Lady Louisa a note upon a 
waiter, which is a ceremony always used to her ladyship. 
Miss Buriley, Evelina, Ixxviii. 
Ezra came quietly into the room agaii., and took up the 
waiter with the jelly-glass and the napkin. 
The Century, XLI. 584. 
Minority waiter, a waiter out of employment : in humor- 
ous allusjon to a political minority, as being out of office. 
Compare def. 3. 
I told Thomas that your Honour had already inlisted 
five disbanded chairmen, seven minority waiters, and 
thirteen billiard. markers. Sheridan, Tin Rivals, ii. 1. 
Quarterly waiter. Same as ^i(or(«r-wai(er.— Walters' 
cramp, an occupation neurosis of public waiters, con- 
sisting in pain and muscular spasm, excited Ijy the at- 
tempt to carry dishes in the customary manner. 
waiterage (wa'tt-r-aj), n. {< waiter + -age.] 
Attendance by a waiter; service. 
Imperial-Hotel people . . . had brightened up ; ... all 
was done for me then that Imman leaiteraye in the cir- 
cumstances could do. Carlyle, The Century, XXIV. 23. 
waiterinK(wa'tdr-ing), n. [< tcaiter + -t»(/l.] 
The empToyment or duties of a waiter. 
Nor yet canyon lay down the gentleman 's-service . . . 
and take up Waitering, Dickens, .Somebody's Luggage, 1. 
wait-fee (wat'fe), n. In feudal late, a periodi- 
cal payment by way of commutation for relief 
from the duty of maintaining a tower and per- 
forming guard on the wall of a royal castle. 
waiting (wa'ting), n. [< ME. waitynge, wayt- 
ynge ; verbal n. of tcait, i'.] If. Watching; 
hence, an ogling. 
Al the lordshep of lecherye in lengthe and in brede, 
As in workes and in wordes and waitynges of eyes. 
Piers Plowman (C), iii. 94. 
2. The act of staying or remaining in expec- 
tation. 
In all ages, men have fought over words, without wait- 
ing to know what the words really signified. 
J. Fiske, Cosmic Philos., I. 122. 
There was an awful waiting in the earth. 
As if a mystery greatened to its birth. 
R. W. Gilder, Interiude. 
3. Attendance; service. 
Green glasses for hock, and excellent waiting at table. 
George Eliot, Middleniarch, xxxvi. 
Lords or grooms in waiting, officers of the British royal 
boiisehoM wlto hold the same position under a queen reg- 
nant as lords or yrooms of the bedcliamber under a king. 
Encyc. Brit., XXL :i7. 
waitingly (wa'tiug-li), adi: By waiting; as if 
waiting. 
waiting-maid (wa'ting-mad), n. A maid-ser- 
vant; a waiting-woman. 
Tokens for a waiting-maid 
To trim the butler with. 
Fletcher (and another). Love's Cure, ii. 2. 
waiting-room (wa'ting-rom), n. A room for 
the use of persons waiting, as at a railway-sta- 
tion or a public office. 
A motley crowd Idled the restaurant and waiting-rooms. 
Harper's Mag., LXXIX. 670. 
waiting-vassalt (wa'ting-vas'''al), n. An at- 
tendant. 
Your carters or your waiting-vassals. 
Shak., Rich. III., ii. 1. 121. 
waiting-woman (wa'ting-wura"an), n. A wo- 
man wTic) attfiiils or waits in service ; a waiting- 
maid. 
Chambermaids and waiting-women. 
Shak., Lear, iv, 1. 05. 
waitress (wa'trcs), w. [< wait(e)r + -ess.] A 
woTiian who waits at table : originally used only 
of one who served in a place of public enter- 
tainment. 
Tlie curtain drew up, and we beheld, seated at a ion*-' 
table, a company of monkeys! - . . the waiter and trai- 
tress were monkeys. 
Anna Mary Uowitt, Art Student in Munich, xviii. 
wake 
wait-service (wat'sei"'''vis), n. The act of serv- 
ing as wait or ward of a castTe Tenure of walt- 
servlce, the holding a virgatc or yard-iand in considera- 
tion of serviiifi as castle-wait or watch. 
wait-treble (wat'treb"!), «. A sort of bagpiije. 
HaUiivell. 
waive (wav), r. ; prct. and pp. waived, ppr. 
icairing. [Also ware; < ME. waitteii, wayveii, 
weive)!, wcyreti, < OF. "waiver, *weiver, weyver, 
guesver, giiever (ML. wariaie), waive, refuse, 
abandon, give over, surrender, give back, re- 
sign, perhaps < Icel. veifa, vibrate swing about, 
move to and fro, = Norw. reiva, swing about, 
= OHG. weiboii, MHG. weiben, waiben, fluctuate, 
waver, = Goth, hi-waihjan, waver ; cf . L. ribrare, 
vibrate. Cf. waif, v. The verb tt'oice is distinct 
fromtfoocl, with which it is often confounded.] 
1. trans. It. To refuse ; forsake ; decline ; shun. 
Anon he wcyveth milk and flessh and al. 
And every deyntee that is in that lions. 
Chaucer, Manciple's Tale, 1. 159. 
Within two dales after wee were hailed by two West- 
Indies men ; but when they saw vs wai/e them for the 
King of France, they gaue vs their broad sides. 
Capt. John Smith, Works, II, 211. 
He lent you imprest money, and upbraids it ; 
Fumislied you for the wooing, and now waives you. 
B. Jonson, Magnetick Lady, iv. 1. 
2t. To move; remove; jiush aside. 
Biddeth Ainende-gow nieke him til his maistre ones, 
To wayne vp the wiket that the womman shette, 
Tho [when] Adam and Eue eten ajtples vnrosted. 
Piers Plowman (B), v. 611. 
Tliou, by whom he was deceived 
Of love, and from his purpose weived. 
Gower, Conf. Amant., ii. 
3. To relinquish ; forsake ; forbear to Insist 
on or claim; defer for the present; forgo: as, 
to waive a subject; to waive a claim or privi- 
lege. 
Whereas it hath pleased the Heads of the I'niv.ersity to 
understand it for three years absolutely, I purpose not to 
wane that construction. 
Thomas Adams (Ellis's Lit. Letters, p. 147). 
You may safely wave the nobility of your birth, and rely 
on your actions for your fame. 
Dryden, Ded. of Plutarch's Lives. 
I have so great a love for you that I can waive oppor- 
tunities of gain to help you. Steele, Spectator, No. 456. 
I have waived his visit till I am in town. 
Walpule, Letters, II. 184. 
4. In law: (a) To relinquish intentionally (a 
known right), or intentionally to do an act in- 
consistent with claiming (it). See waiver, (b) 
To throw away, as a thief stolen goods in his 
flight. (<■) In old Eng. law, to put out of the 
protection of the law, as a woman. 
If the defendant be a woman, the proceeding is called a 
waver ; for, as women were not sworn to the law, . . . they 
could not properly be outlawed, but were said to be waived, 
i. e., derelicta, left out, or not regarded. Wharton. 
H. iiitraii.'i. To depart; deviate. 
Yow ne liketh, for youre heighe prudence, 
To weyven fro the word of Salomon. 
Chaucer, Merchant's Tale, 1. 239. 
waivet (wav),«. [See JCf«/.] 1. A waif ; a poor 
liomeless wretch ; a castaway. 
O Lord ! what a waive and stray is that man that hath 
not thy marks on him ! Donne. 
2. In law, a woman put out of tlie protection 
of the law. 
Waive, a Woman that is Out-law'd ; she is so called as 
being forsaken of the Law, and not an Out-law as a Man 
is. Glos-sographia Anglicana (1707). 
waiver (wiX'ver), ii. [Formerl.y also waver; < 
OF. "waiver, weyi'er, waive, refuse, renounce, 
inf. as noun: seeic«ire.] Inlaw: (a) The act 
of waiving; the intentional relinquishment of 
a known right; the passing by or declining to 
accept a thing. 
Waiver, in a general way, may be said to occur wher- 
ever one, in possession of a right conferred eithei- by law 
or by contract, and knowing the attendant facts, does or 
forbears to do something incon-sistent with the existence 
of the right or of his intiention to rely upon it; in which 
case he is said to have waived it, anil he is estopped from 
claiming anything by reason of it afterward. Bishop. 
The earliest conception . . . of public justice was a sol- 
emn ?crtireron the part of the community of its right and 
duty of protection in tlie case of one who had wronged his 
fellow-member of the folk. 
J. Ii. Green, Conq. of England, p. 23. 
(6) In old Kiig. law, tlie legal jirocess by which 
a woman was waived, or put out of the protec- 
tion of tho law. 
waivode, waiwode ( wa'vod, wa'wod), ii. Same 
as voiviide. 
waiwodeship (wii'wod-ship), «. Same as roi- 
voilesliip. 
Wakasa lacquer. See lacquer. 
wake' (wak), V. : [iret. and ])p. walced or woke, 
\>l>y. walxiiKj. [Under tills form are merged two 
