waif en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /weɪf/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- (Received-Pronunciation) audio
Etymology
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.
Meanings
-
(UK, archaic) 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
- (figuratively) Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.
-
(figuratively) A person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support; also, a person excluded from society; an outcast.
Only an old woman, bloated, disheveled and bleared. / Far-wandered waif of other days, / Huddles for sleep in a doorway, / Homeless.
1916 April, Carl Sandburg, “Old Woman”, in Chicago Poems, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 168: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] L[evi] Burt Company, June 1914, →OCLC, page 55:
-
(broadly, figuratively) 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:
- (broadly, figuratively) A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but not persistently naturalized.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| waifs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
fat · fatty · tub of guts · lardass · fattie · thunder thighs · chunker · oinker · fat-ass · chodder · fatty bom bom · tub of lard · roly-poly · whale · fatty boombalatty · fatass · tubba lard · fatfuck · heffalump · pudge · podge · landwhale · tubbo · hamplanet · chunky monkey · swagbelly · porker · fatshit · obeast · elephant · pig · gorbelly · tubbalard · All are derogatory unless otherwise labeled · butterball · chod · fatso · lardo · hambeast · chubster · fat fuck · lardbucket · chubbs · salad dodger · fussock
Deriveds
waifish · waify · superwaif · waifishness · waifishly · waiflike
Relateds
Synonyms
palliard · nomad · derelict · epithite · skell · wanderer · landleaper · yagger · piker · rough sleeper · paker · vagrant · landloper · truant · stumblebum · thin person · floater · toerag · tramp · drifter · bum · down-and-outer · swagman · ranger · dero · Jack out of doors · knight of the road · landlouper · skelder · pike · clochard · stiff · waif · swaggie · casual · down-and-out · stroller · rogue · scatterling · rolling stone · vagabond · hobo · gadling
Translations (45)
vi vật vô chủ (something found, especially if without an owner) · cmn 流浪儿 (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · cs chudinka (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · cs nalezená věc (something found, especially if without an owner) · vi trẻ bị bỏ rơi (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · cs bezprizorní dítě (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · fi löytö (something found, especially if without an owner) · vi vật vô chủ (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known) · vi trẻ bơ vơ (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · fi isännätön esine (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known) · ru беспризо́рница (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · it ritrovamento (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known) · fi katulapsi (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · da forældreløst barn (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · eo vaganto (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · fr vagabond (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · sv herrelöst gods (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known) · de heimatlose Person (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · sv föräldralöst barn (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · bg бездомник (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · de Heimatloser (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · pl podrzutek (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · it trovatello (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · es bien mostrenco (something found, especially if without an owner) · cs žebráček (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · de heimatloses Kind (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · de herrenloses Gut (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known) · es hallazgo (something found, especially if without an owner) · bg намерена вещ (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known) · nl zwerver (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · ar سَائِبَة (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known) · fi ruipelo (very thin person) · da hittebarn (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · de Fundstück (something found, especially if without an owner) · sh nahod (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · it randagio (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · ru нахо́дка (something found, especially if without an owner) · it vagabondo (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · ru поте́рянная вещь (something found, especially if without an owner) · de Fundsache (something found, especially if without an owner) · ru беспризо́рник (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · it naufrago (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · cs opuštěný majetek (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known) · mi hoetere (person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support) · fi isännätön tavara (article of movable property found of which the owner is not known)