waif

American  

[weyf] / weɪf /

noun

1. a person, especially a child, who has no home or friends.

2. something found, especially a stray animal, whose owner is not known.

3. a very thin, often small person, usually a young woman.

4. a stray item or article.

   to gather waifs of gossip.

5. Nautical. waft.

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waif British  

/ weɪf /

noun

1. a person, esp a child, who is homeless, friendless, or neglected

2. anything found and not claimed, the owner being unknown

3. nautical another name for waft

4. obsolete law a stolen article thrown away by a thief in his flight and forfeited to the Crown or to the lord of the manor

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Other Word Forms

• waiflike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of waif

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, originally “lost, stray (animal), unclaimed (property)” (compare Old French guaif “stray beast”), from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse veif “movement to and fro, something waving, flag”; see waive

Explanation

No matter how cold-hearted you are, it's tough not to feel sympathy for a waif — a neglected or orphaned child. From Oliver Twist to Harry Potter, literature is filled with stories of young waifs who persevere through hardship. In contrast to street urchins or ragamuffins, waifs are generally seen as wholly innocent victims of their situation. This fact may explain why waifs make such compelling literary protagonists. Who's going to root against a kind-hearted orphan? And who would admit it if they did?

Example Sentences

In a meticulously crafted stop-motion world of gritty dockside poverty, a starving waif discovers the neglected girl in a shabby home weeps not teardrops but pearls.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

The day after she and her husband, Jack, sculpt the figure of a child out of snow, an ethereal waif emerges from the wilderness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

The trial heard him described as a "ruffian" and a "street waif" who never stood still.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2025

One might wonder whether the fictional narrative of the beleaguered waif in a judgmental small town is Owens’s way of addressing something in her own past.

From Washington Post • Jul. 13, 2022

The waif fell in behind them as they were making their descent.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin