Associations to the word «Waif»
Wiktionary
WAIF, noun. (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.
WAIF, noun. (obsolete) Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance.
WAIF, noun. A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child.
WAIF, noun. (botany) (of a plant outside its native range) A plant that has been introduced but is not persistently naturalized.
Dictionary definition
WAIF, noun. A homeless child especially one forsaken or orphaned; "street children beg or steal in order to survive".
Wise words
To use the same words is not a sufficient guarantee of
understanding; one must use the same words for the same
genus of inward experience; ultimately one must have one's
experiences in common.