Main Entry: waive

Pronunciation: \ˈwāv\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): waived; waiv·ing

Etymology: Middle English weiven to decline, reject, give up, from Anglo-French waiver, gaiver, from waif lost, stray — more at waif

Date: 14th century

1 archaic : give up, forsake
2 : to throw away (stolen goods)
3 archaic : to shunt aside (as a danger or duty) : evade
4 a : to relinquish voluntarily (as a legal right) <waive a jury trial> b : to refrain from pressing or enforcing (as a claim or rule) : forgo <waive the fee>
5 : to put off from immediate consideration : postpone
6 [influenced by ¹wave] : to dismiss with or as if with a wave of the hand <waived the problem aside>
7 : to place (a ball player) on waivers; also : to release after placing on waivers

synonyms see relinquish