1
a
: a stray person or animal
especially : a homeless child
b
: something found without an owner and especially by chance
2
: an extremely thin and usually young woman
3
a
: a piece of property (such as property washed up by the sea) found but unclaimed
b
waifs plural : stolen goods thrown away by a thief in flight

waif

2 of 2

noun (2)

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Waif itself is a stray, if we consider its first meaning the home from which it came. Tracing back to an Anglo-French adjective waif meaning "stray, unclaimed," the English noun waif referred in its earliest 14th century uses to unclaimed found items, such as those gone astray (think cattle) and those washed ashore (think jetsam), as well as to the king's (or lord's) right to such property. Stolen goods abandoned by a thief in flight eventually came to be referred to as waifs as well, as later did anything found without an owner and especially by chance. (It's interesting to note that the verb waive, used in modern English in phrases like "waive a fee" or "waive one's rights" comes from the same Anglo-French source as waif and was at one time used to mean "to throw away (stolen goods).") The emphasis on being found faded as waif came to be applied to any stray animal or person, and especially to a homeless child, and in the late 20th century the current most common meaning of "an extremely thin and usually young woman" developed.

Examples of waif in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
The immortal embarrassment of Nosferatu The arduous, debilitating affair between melancholic 1830s waif Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) and her vampire lover-enemy Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård, under tons of prosthetics) begins with deception. Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English weif, waif, from Anglo-French, from waif, adjective, stray, unclaimed, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse veif something flapping, veifa to be in movement — more at wipe

Noun (2)

perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse veif something flapping

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Noun (2)

1530, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of waif was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Waif.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/waif. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

waif

noun
ˈwāf
: a stray person or animal
especially : a homeless child

More from Merriam-Webster on waif

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