Definition Definition

waif - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'waif' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Waif [ n.]
- 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.
- Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance.
- A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child.

Meaning of 'waif' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . waif [ n]
Meaning (1):
- a homeless child especially one forsaken or orphaned
Example in sentence:
  • street children beg or steal in order to survive