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.

---

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

---

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”; waive

Example Sentences

And with all this talk of hanging, how could she dream of accusing a poor waif of a child, who likely had no one to teach him right from wrong to begin with?

From Literature

America crumbles and she takes to the road, collecting waifs and strays and founding a utopian community in rural Oregon.

From Salon

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

From BBC

“She was not just a little waif blowing in the wind,” Judge Jackson said.

From New York Times

She and other characters, like the inimitable Bertie — who makes a “special brew” in high demand — are not waifs of the frontier.

From Los Angeles Times