waif
/weɪf/
waif noun: an article of movable property which has been found, and of which the owner is not known, such as goods washed up on a beach or thrown away by an absconding thief; such items belong to the Crown, which may grant the right of ownership to them to a lord of a manor.
Noun (1)
waif (plural waifs)
- An article of movable property which has been found, and of which the owner is not known, such as goods washed up on a beach or thrown away by an absconding thief; such items belong to the Crown, which may grant the right of ownership to them to a lord of a manor.
- waifs and strays
- Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.
- A person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support; also, a person excluded from society; an outcast.
- But vvhat a vvretched, and diſconſolate Hermitage is that Houſe, vvhich is not viſited by thee [God], and vvhat a VVayue, and Stray is that Man, that hath not thy Markes vpon him?1624, John Donne, “13. Prayer”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, page 329
- Tenderly 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!1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “The White Ape”, in Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert]...
- Synonyms:
- bum, stiff, casual, clochard, derelict, dero, down-and-out, down-and-outer, drifter, epithite
- A very thin person, especially a young one.
- When we had done all the things there were to do, he passed out and I clung to his reassuringly solid, soft stomach—paternal, so different to the indie waifs—and cried.2021, Megan Nolan, Acts of Desperation, Random House, →ISBN
- Synonyms:
- thin person
- Antonyms:
- All are derogatory unless otherwise labeled, butterball, chod, chodder, chubbs, chubster, chunker, chunky monkey, elephant, fat
- A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but not persistently naturalized.
Verb
waif (third-person singular simple present waifs, present participle waifing, simple past and past participle waifed)
- To cast aside or reject, and thus make a waif.
- It is true that Guy, Count of Ponthieu, holds fief under me, but I have no control over the laws of his realm. And by those laws, he hath right of life and death over all stranded and waifed on his coast.1848, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter I, in Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings; […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, book IX (The Bones of the Dead), pages 293–294
Noun (2)
waif (plural waifs)
- A small flag used as a signal.
- [page 440] The allusion to 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. […] [page 441] [A] fish is technically fast when it bears a waif, or any other...1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Fast-fish and Loose-fish”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, pages 440–441
Noun (3)
waif (plural waifs)
Noun (4) capitalized: WAIF
WAIF (plural WAIFs)
- A minor celebrity whose fame is unwarranted or undeserved.
- Tamara was one of the original wild-child tribe - up to now, famous mainly for being famous. She has done a quantity of high-profile dabbling in modelling, acting, television and journalism (file under MAW - Model, Actress, Whatever - or WAIF - Why Am I Famous?)1996 October 19, Hester Lacey, “She's left her wild-child self behind, learned from her multitude of mistakes and even got a proper job. So why do we hate her?”, in The Independent
- Jeff left with Johnny a few moments as I wondered if maybe the WAIFs were also getting paid to drape themselves around the place. You know what a WAIF is, one of those Why am I famous? people - an It Girl or He-Hunk or whatever. Maybe they'd been hired in too.1999, Phil Strongman, Cocaine, page 91
waif meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
waif in Tamil
- ஆளற்ற பொருள், கேட்பாரற்ற விலங்கு, அலைவாரி, கடலில் அடித்துக்கொண்டுவரப்பட்ட பொருள், வானவாரி, அறியா வழியாகவந்த பொருள்
waif in Urdu
- بےگھر, مال متروکہ
waif in Malayalam
- ഉടമസ്ഥനില്ലാത്ത ചരക്ക്, അവകാശിയില്ലാത്ത മുതൽ, അനാഥൻ
waif in Kannada
- ಅನಾಥ ಶಿಶು, ತಬ್ಬಲಿ, ತಿರುಕ, ಬೇವಾರ್ಸಿ, ನಿರ್ಗತಿಕ, ಅನಾಥ
More languagesFewer languages
- waif in Arabic
- سَائِبَة sāʔiba
- waif in Vietnamese
- vật vô chủ, trẻ bơ vơ, trẻ bị bỏ rơi
Synonyms of waif
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
- All are derogatory unless otherwise labeled
- butterball
- chod
- chodder
- chubbs
- chubster
- chunker
- chunky monkey
- elephant
- fat
10 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of waif
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | waifs |
| plural | WAIFs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | waifs |
| present participle | waifing |
| past participle | waifed |
| past | waifed |
Origin of waif
The noun is derived from Late Middle English weif (“ownerless property subject to seizure and forfeiture; the right of such seizure and forfeiture; revenues obtained from such seizure and forfeiture”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman waif, weif [and other forms] (compare Anglo-Latin waivum [and other forms], Medieval Latin waivium), possibly from Old French waif, a variant of gaif, gayf (“property that is lost and unclaimed; of property: lost and unclaimed”) (Norman) [and other forms], probably from a North Germanic source such as Old Norse veif (“flag; waving thing”), from Proto-Germanic *waif-, from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to oscillate, swing”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Possibly from Old Norse veif (“flag; waving thing”); see further at etymology 1.
Origin unknown; possibly related to the following words: * waff (“waving movement; gust or puff of air or wind; odour, scent; slight blow; slight attack of illness; glimpse; apparition, wraith; of the wind: to cause (something) to move to and fro; to flutter or wave to and fro in the wind; to produce a current of air by waving, to fan”) (Northern England, Scotland), a variant of waive (etymology 2) or wave (see further at those entries). * Middle English wef, weffe (“bad odour, stench, stink; exhalation; vapour; tendency of something to go bad (?)”) [and other forms], possibly a variant of either: ** waf, waif, waife (“odour, scent”), possibly from waven (“to move to and fro, sway, wave; to stray, wander; to move in a weaving manner; (figuratively) to hesitate, vacillate”), from Old English wafian (“to wave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”); or ** wef (“a blow, stroke”), from weven (“to travel, wander; to move to and fro, flutter, waver; to blow something away, waft; to cause something to move; to fall; to cut deeply; to sever; to give up, yield; to give deference to; to avoid; to afflict, trouble; to beckon, signal”); further etymology uncertain...
Words formed from waif
Words that rhyme with waif
Questions about waif
- What does waif mean?
- Waif means an article of movable property which has been found, and of which the owner is not known, such as goods washed up on a beach or thrown away by an absconding thief; such items belong to the Crown, which may grant the right of ownership to them to a lord of a manor.
- What is waif in Tamil?
- Waif in Tamil is ஆளற்ற பொருள், கேட்பாரற்ற விலங்கு, அலைவாரி. See Waif meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is waif?
- Waif can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce waif?
- Waif is pronounced /weɪf/ (UK).
- What is the plural of waif?
- The plural of waif is waifs.
Words near waif in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: waif (page history and authors); WAIF (page history and authors); waif (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); waif (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); waif (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); waif (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-waif.wav.
Cite this entry: “waif.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/waif. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.