different between presume vs wait

English

Alternative forms

• præsume (archaic)

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman presumer, Middle French presumer, and their source, Latin praes?mere (“to take beforehand, anticipate”), from prae- + s?mere (“to take”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p???zju?m/
• (US) IPA^(key): /p?i?z(j)um/, /p???z(j)um/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /p???zju?m/, /p????u?m/
• (General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /p???zj??m/, /p??????m/

Verb

presume (third-person singular simple present presumes, present participle presuming, simple past and past participle presumed)

1. (transitive) With infinitive object: to be so presumptuous as (to do something) without proper authority or permission. [from 14th c.]

   I wouldn't presume to tell him how to do his job.

2. (transitive, now rare) To perform, do (something) without authority; to lay claim to without permission. [from 14th c.]

   Don't make the decision yourself and presume too much.

3. (transitive) To assume or suggest to be true (without proof); to take for granted, to suppose. [from 14th c.]

   Paw-prints in the snow presume a visit from next door's cat.

   Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

   • 2011, John Patterson, The Guardian, 5 Feb 2011:

     If we presume that human cloning may one day become a mundane, everyday reality, then maybe it's time to start thinking more positively about our soon-to-arrive genetically engineered pseudo-siblings.

4. (intransitive) To be presumptuous; with on, upon, to take advantage (of), to take liberties (with). [from 15th c.]
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 22;

     Presume not on thy heart when mine is slain;

     Thou gavest me thine, not to give back again.

   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 75:

     Piliso then vented his anger on us, accusing us of lying to him. He said we had presumed on his hospitality and the good name of the regent.

Synonyms

• (to assume to be true): see Thesaurus:suppose

Related terms

• presumption
• presumptive
• presumptuous

Translations

Anagrams

• Supreme, eusperm, supreme, suprême

Italian

Verb

presume

1. third-person singular indicative present of presumere

Anagrams

• supreme

Portuguese

Verb

presume

1. inflection of presumir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Verb

presume

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of presumir.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of presumir.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of presumir.

English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) waight

Etymology

From Middle English waiten, wayten, from Old Northern French waiter, waitier (compare French guetter from Old French gaitier, guaitier), from Frankish *waht?n, *wahtijan (“to watch, guard”), derivative of Frankish *wahta (“guard, watch”), from Proto-Germanic *wahtw? (“guard, watch”), from Proto-Indo-European *we?- (“to be fresh, cheerful, awake”). Cognate with Old High German waht?n (“to watch, guard”), German Low German wachten (“to wait”), Dutch wachten (“to wait, expect”), French guetter (“to watch out for”), Saterland Frisian wachtje (“to wait”), West Frisian wachtsje (“to wait”), North Frisian wachtjen (“to stand, stay put”). More at watch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we?t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /we?t/, [we???t]
• Rhymes: -e?t
• Homophone: weight

Verb

wait (third-person singular simple present waits, present participle waiting, simple past and past participle waited)

1. (transitive, now rare) To delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of; to await. (Now generally superseded by “wait for”.)

   • Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, / And wait with longing looks their promised guide.

   • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, page 30:

     The Court had assembled, to wait events, in the huge antechamber known as the Œil de Boeuf.

2. (intransitive) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
   • Haste, my dear father; 'tis no time to wait.

3. (intransitive, US) To wait tables; to serve customers in a restaurant or other eating establishment.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect.

   • He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all / His warlike troops, to wait the funeral.

   • 1714, Nicholas Rowe, The Tragedy of Jane Shore

     Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, / And everlasting anguish be thy portion.

5. (obsolete) To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany.
6. (obsolete, colloquial) To defer or postpone (especially a meal).

   to wait dinner

7. (intransitive) To remain faithful to one’s partner or betrothed during a prolonged period of absence.
   • 1957,Dagny Taggart and Francisco d'Anconia, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

     She did not question him. Before leaving, she asked only, "When will I see you again?" He answered, "I don't know. Don't wait for me, Dagny. Next time we meet, you will not want to see me."

   • 1974, The Bee Gees, Night Fever

     I will wait / Even if it takes forever / I will wait / Even if it takes a lifetime

Usage notes

• In sense 1, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• (delay until): await, wait for; See also Thesaurus:wait for
• (delay until some event): hold one's breath; See also Thesaurus:wait
• (serve customers): wait on, wait upon, serve
• (attend with ceremony or respect): bestand, serve, tend; See also Thesaurus:serve
• (attend as a consequence): attend, escort, go with
• (defer or postpone): defer, postpone; See also Thesaurus:procrastinate
• (remain celibate):

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

wait (plural waits)

1. A delay.

   I had a very long wait at the airport security check.

2. An ambush.

   They lay in wait for the patrol.
3. (obsolete) One who watches; a watchman.
4. (in the plural, obsolete, Britain) Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

5. (in the plural, Britain) Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [formerly waites, wayghtes.]

   • Hark! are the waits abroad?

   • 1819-1820, Washington Irving, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon

     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.

Translations

Related terms

• wake
• watch

Anagrams

• WTAI

Elfdalian

Etymology

From Old Norse hvítr, from Proto-Germanic *hw?taz. Cognate with Swedish vit.

Adjective

wait

1. white

Gothic

Romanization

wait

1. Romanization of ????????????????

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English white.

Adjective

wait

1. white

Westrobothnian

Alternative forms

• weit

Etymology

From Old Norse hveiti.

Noun

wait n (definite singular waite)

1. wheat (Triticum)
2. wheat bread