Etymology From Middle English awaiten, from Old Northern French awaitier (“to lie in wait for, watch, observe”), originally especially with a hostile sense; itself from a- (“to”) + waitier (“to watch”). More at English wait.
Betwixt these rocky pillars Gabriel sat, / Chief of the angelic guards, awaiting night;1674, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost:
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I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
In love, however, women are brave. How many clamber over rooftops of houses and palaces, and are still doing it, when their lovers await them!1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 47:
After 170416 heads into the bay platform (2) to be prepared for its next trip to 'Skeggy', there's time to grab a coffee and await the arrival of RAIL's next train - the 1144 Leicester-Grimsby Town.2024 April 17, “Rural railways: do they deliver?”, in RAIL, number 1007, page 57:
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To expect.
3
To be in store for; to be ready or in waiting for.
Glorious rewards await the good in heaven; eternal suffering awaits mortal sinners in hell.
Standing foursquare in the heart of the town, at the intersection of the two main streets, a "jog" at each street corner left around the market-house a little public square, which at this hour was well occupied by carts and wagons from the country and empty drays awaiting hire.1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars:
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O Eve, some further change awaits us nigh.1674, John Milton, “Book XI”, in Paradise Lost:
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To serve or attend; to wait on, wait upon.
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To watch, observe.
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To wait; to stay in waiting.
These are exotic lands where great adventures await.
Etymology From Middle English awaiten, from Old Northern French awaitier (“to lie in wait for, watch, observe”), originally especially with a hostile sense; itself from a- (“to”) + waitier (“to watch”). More at English wait.
Also, madame, syte you well that there be many men spekith of oure love in this courte, and have you and me gretely in awayte, as thes Sir Aggravayne and Sir Mordred.1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book VII, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:
For all that night, the whyles the Prince did rest […] He watcht in close awayt with weapons prest […]1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC: