waif, street child
(noun) a homeless child especially one forsaken or orphaned; āstreet children beg or steal in order to surviveā
Source: WordNet® 3.1
WAIF (plural WAIFs)
(informal, derogatory) A minor celebrity who does not deserve his or her fame.
• sublebrity
waif (plural waifs)
A castaway; a homeless child.
Synonyms: wanderer, stray
(botany, of a plant outside its native range) A plant that has been introduced but is not persistently naturalized.
(obsolete) 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.
(obsolete) Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance.
Source: Wiktionary
Waif, n. Etym: [OF. waif, gaif, as adj., lost, unclaimed, chose gaive a waif, LL. wayfium, res vaivae; of Scand. origin. See Waive.]
1. (Eng. Law.)
Definition: 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. Blackstone.
2. Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance. "Rolling in his mind old waifs of rhyme." Tennyson.
3. A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child. A waif Desirous to return, and not received. Cowper.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
29 May 2025
(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; āa critical readingā; āa critical dissertationā; āa critical analysis of Melvilleās writingsā
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