What is the meaning of Waif?

Often in the form waif and stray, waifs and strays: 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.

  1. Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.
  2. A person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support; also, a person excluded from society; an outcast.

    Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.

    A person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support; also, a person excluded from society; an outcast.

    A very thin person.

    A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but not persistently naturalized.

    To cast aside or reject, and thus make a waif.

    A small flag used as a signal.

    Something (such as clouds or smoke) carried aloft by the wind.

    wife

    Alternative form of weif

    Source: wiktionary.org