Waive
/weɪv/noun
To voluntarily give up a right, claim, or privilege.
Did you know?In early legal use, English *waive* came from a French word tied to abandonment and forfeiture, so the modern “I waive my rights” still carries the shadow of giving something up before the law.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weik-
“to bend, yield, give way”
Latin
Latin
vincere
“to conquer”
Old French
Old French
waiver
“to abandon, relinquish”
Middle English
English
waiven
“to relinquish a claim or right; to forgo”
Modern English
English
waive
“to voluntarily give up a right, claim, or privilege”