Waif

Pronunciation

• IPA: /weɪf/
• Rhymes: -eɪf

Origin

From Anglo-Norman, possibly from Old French guaif ("stray beast"), probably from a source such as Old Norse veif ("flag, waving thing"), from Proto-Germanic *waif (""), from Proto-Indo-European *weib-, *weip- ("to oscillate, swing").

Full definition of waif

Noun

1. (obsolete) Goods found of which the owner is not known; originally, such goods as a pursued thief threw away to prevent being apprehended, which belonged to the king unless the owner made pursuit of the felon, took him, and brought him to justice.
2. (obsolete) Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance.
3. A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child.
• 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 5Tenderly Kala nursed her little waif, wondering silently why it did not gain strength and agility as did the little apes of other mothers. It was nearly a year from the time the little fellow came into her possession before he would walk alone, and as for climbing--my, but how stupid he was!

Related terms

• waive