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”; 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

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

Give a lot of credit to NBC’s two winning leads: Celina Smith as the wide-eyed waif Annie and the crooner Harry Connick Jr. as the bossy Daddy Warbucks.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2021

We looked again at our grandchild who was part of ourselves, and at the poor little waif who lay quietly now on the rag-heap, and we said farewell.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya