The word 等待 is formed by combining two characters, 等 and 待, which both individually carry the core meaning of "to wait" or "to await". This is a common constructive principle in Chinese where synonymous or closely related characters are paired together to create a single, reinforced concept. The combination does not create a new meaning from unrelated parts, but rather merges and solidifies the shared notion of pausing in expectation, resulting in a compound word that conveys "to wait" with a slight nuance of enduring or staying for an outcome.