Wait, n.
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.”
3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.]
4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the singular. [Obs.]
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.
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