In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
WAIF
waif, street child
(noun) a homeless child especially one forsaken or orphaned; “street children beg or steal in order to survive”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
WAIF (plural WAIFs)
(informal, derogatory) A minor celebrity who does not deserve his or her fame.
Hypernyms
• sublebrity
Etymology
Noun
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
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
17 January 2025
OBSERVE
(verb) conform one’s action or practice to; “keep appointments”; “she never keeps her promises”; “We kept to the original conditions of the contract”
Coffee Trivia
