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”; waive

Example Sentences

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

“She’s not some little waif blowing in the wind,” Jackson said.

From Washington Post • Mar. 23, 2023

Slip away from the crowd and stroll beneath the bridge and you’ll come upon a waif of a man in a dark polo shirt and ball cap.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2021

“The pathetic little waif is Talented, did you know that?”

From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff