4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; — said of a meal; as, to wait dinner. [Colloq.]
WAIT Wait, n. Etym: [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.
Defn: Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the singular. [Obs.] Halliwell.
5. pl.
Defn: 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.
WAIT-A-BIT
Wait"-a-bit`, n.