serving or being in attendance: waiting man;waiting maid;
waiting woman.
Idioms
3.
in waiting, in attendance, as upon a royal personage.
Origin
1150-1200;Middle English (noun); see wait, -ing1, -ing2
Related forms
waitingly, adverb
Idioms and Phrases with in waiting
in waiting
In attendance, especially on a royal personage. For example, The prelates who were in waiting asked him to take the last rites. This usage has become less common with the diminution of royalty and royal courts but still survives. [ Late 1600s ]