Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - wait

 I. verb  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~er, guaiter to watch over, a~, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wahta watch, Old English w?ccan to watch — more at wake  Date: 14th century  transitive verb  1. to stay in place in expectation of ; a~ ~ed the result of the advertisement — W. M. Thackeray ~ your turn  2. to delay serving (a meal)  3. to serve as ~er for ~ tables  intransitive verb  1.  a. to remain stationary in readiness or expectation ~ for a train  b. to pause for another to catch up — usually used with up  2.  a. to look forward expectantly just ~ing to see his rival lose  b. to hold back expectantly ~ing for a chance to strike  3. to serve at meals — usually used in such phrases as ~ on tables or ~ on table  4.  a. to be ready and available slippers ~ing by the bed  b. to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized the chores can ~ Usage:  American dialectologists have evidence showing ~ on (sense 3) to be more a Southern than a Northern form in speech. Handbook writers universally denigrate ~ on and prescribe ~ for in writing. Our evidence from printed sources does not show a regional preference; it does show that the handbooks' advice is not based on current usage settlement of the big problems still ~ed on Russia — Time I couldn't make out…whether Harper was ~ing on me for approval — E. B. White the staggering bill that ~ed on them at the white commissary downtown — Maya Angelou. One reason for the continuing use of ~ on may lie in its being able to suggest protracted or irritating ~s better than ~ for for two days I've been ~ing on weather — Charles A. Lindbergh the boredom of black Africans sitting there, ~ing on the whims of a colonial bureaucracy — Vincent Canby doesn't care to sit around ~ing on a House that's virtually paralyzed — Glenn A. Briere. Wait on is less common than ~ for, but if it seems natural, there is no reason to avoid it.  II. noun  Etymology: Middle English ~e watchman, observation, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wahta watch  Date: 14th century  1.  a. a hidden or concealed position — used chiefly in the expression lie in ~  b. a state or attitude of watchfulness and expectancy anchored in ~ for early morning fishing — Fred Zimmer  2.  a. one of a band of public musicians in England employed to play for processions or public entertainments  b.  (1) one of a group who serenade for gratuities especially at the Christmas season  (2) a piece of music by such a group  3. an act or period of ~ing a long ~ in line