GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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1.       
   Waif , n. [OF. waif, gaif, as adj., lost, unclaimed, chose gaive a waif, LL. wayfium, res vaivae; of Scand. origin.  See Waive.]
   1913 Webster
   (Eng. Law.) 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.
   
   1913 Webster
   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.
   
   1913 Webster
   A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child.
   1913 Webster
   A waif
   Desirous to return, and not received.
   Cowper.
   
   1913 Webster