Waited

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈweɪt.ɪd/

Definitions

1. To stay in a location or maintain a condition while anticipating an occurrence or someone's arrival, often postponing action until a specified moment or event
2. To persist in a certain place or situation in expectation of a future happening or individual, frequently deferring any activity until a particular time or circumstance arises
3. Remained in place or position until a certain event or person appeared

Etymology: "Waited" is simply the past tense and past participle of "wait", so its story is really the story of the verb. The verb arrived in English from Anglo-Norman "waiter" and "waitier", which had come from a Frankish word meaning to watch or guard, and its French cousin "guetter" still means to watch out for something. Its Old French ancestor and that French form share the sense of standing on guard, which is a long way from the idle lingering we now associate with waiting for a bus. English had its own word for this idea, "biden", from Old English "bīdan", which survives today in "bide", as in "bide your time." The newer "wait" largely overtook it. Along the way, "wait" also merged in some senses with a separate Middle English verb meaning to lie in ambush or to lay a snare, probably from Old Norse, so the modern sense of patient expectation carries a faint trace of the lurking hunter.

Synonyms: awaited, bided, lingered, remained, stayed

Antonyms: rushed, hurried, departed, left, abandoned