To voluntarily give up or relinquish a right, claim, or privilege. It involves a deliberate decision to forgo something one is entitled to have or do.
From Anglo-Norman 'weyver', from Old French 'guever' meaning 'to abandon', possibly from Germanic roots meaning 'to fluctuate, wave'. The legal sense developed from the idea of 'waving away' one's rights.
Waive comes from the idea of 'waving away' your rights - like literally waving goodbye to something you could claim! The gesture of waving dismissal became a legal concept for voluntarily giving up what you're entitled to.
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