waif

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waif¹

(wāf)

a. A homeless person, especially a forsaken or orphaned child.

b. An abandoned young animal.

2. A person, especially a young woman, who is thin or gaunt.

3. Something found and unclaimed, as an object cast up by the sea.

[Middle English, ownerless property, stray animal, from Anglo-Norman, probably of Scandinavian origin; see weip- in Indo-European roots.]

waif²

(wāf)

n. Nautical

See waft.

[Probably of Scandinavian origin; see weip- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

waif

(weɪf)

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

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

3. (Nautical Terms) nautical another name for waft⁵

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

[C14: from Anglo-Norman, variant of Old Northern French gaif, of Scandinavian origin; related to Old Norse veif a flapping thing]

ˈwaifˌlike, ˈwaifish adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

waif

(wāf),
n.

1. a person, esp. a child, who has no home.

2. a stray animal, whose owner is not known.

3. a stray item or article.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, orig. lost, stray, unclaimed (compare Old French guaif stray beast) < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse veif movement to and fro; see waive]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

waif - a homeless child especially one forsaken or orphaned; "street children beg or steal in order to survive"

street child

child, kid, minor, nipper, tiddler, youngster, tike, shaver, small fry, nestling, fry, tyke - a young person of either sex; "she writes books for children"; "they're just kids"; "`tiddler' is a British term for youngster"

waif

noun stray, orphan, outcast, urchin, foundling an emaciated waif living rough on the streets

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

شارِد، شَخْص أو حَيَوان ضال

hjemløst barn

verlassenes obdachloses Kind

lelenc

umkomuleysingi; munaîarleysingi

randagio trovatello

benamis vaikas

bezpajumtnieks

gatebarn hjemløst barn

kimsesiz çocuk

流浪儿

waif

[weɪf] N (= child) → niño/a m/f abandonado/a, niño/a m/f desamparado/a; (= animal) → animal m abandonado
waifs and strays (= children) → niños mpl abandonados or desamparados; (= animals) → animales mpl abandonados

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

waif

[ˈweɪf] n → gamin(e) m/f des rues
waif-like → au physique de gamin(e) des rues

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

waif

n → obdachloses or heimatloses Kind; (= animal) → herrenloses Tier; the poor little waif … → das arme kleine Ding, hat kein Zuhause, …; waifs and strays (= children) → obdachlose or heimatlose Kinder pl; (= animals) → herrenlose Tiere pl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

waif

[weɪf] n → bambino/a abbandonato/a; (slight person) → creatura gracile
waifs and strays → trovatelli mpl

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

waif

(weif) noun

a stray, uncared-for child. a poor little waif.

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References in classic literature ?

The allusion to the waifs and waif-poles in the last chapter but one, necessitates some account of the laws and regulations of the whale fishery, of which the waif may be deemed the grand symbol and badge.

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Then, too, there was the mute appeal of this wee waif alone and unloved in the midst of the horrors of the savage jungle.

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As for color, if a once black cat had been well and thoroughly singed the result would have resembled the hue of this waif's thin, draggled, unsightly fur.

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2) My curse on him whoe'er unrived The waif's fell fetters and my life revived!

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The young fellow hooked his arm into the Reverend's, now, with the confiding and grateful air of a waif who has been longing for a friend, and a sympathetic ear, and a chance to lisp once more the sweet accents of the mother-tongue--and then he limbered up the muscles of his mouth and turned himself loose--and with such a relish!

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He agreed to furnish the crew with provisions during their stay in his territories, and to return to them all their clothing that could be found, but he stipulated that the wreck should be abandoned to him as a waif cast by fortune on his shores.

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Tenderly Kala nursed her little waif, wondering silently why it did not gain strength and agility as did the little apes of other mothers.

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He was followed almost immediately by Hiram Da Souza, who, curiously enough, seemed to have been on the platform when the train came in and to have been much interested in this shabby, lonely old man, who carried himself like a waif stranded in an unknown land.

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But the spare room was out of the question for such a stray waif, so there remained only the east gable room.

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Also she began to remember that she was a waif of the storm, adrift upon a treacherous and unknown sea.

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The woman's heart, hungering in its horrible isolation for something that it might harmlessly love, welcomed the rescued waif of the streets as a consolation sent from God.

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"I have heard a waif word in the country," said I, a little nettled, "that you were a hard man to drive."

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