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Webster 1913 Edition

Waif

Waif

,
Noun.
[OF.
waif
,
gaif
, as adj., lost, unclaimed,
chose gaive
a waif, LL.
wayfium
,
res vaivae
; of Scand. origin. See
Waive
.]
1.
(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.
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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Waif

WAIF

,
Noun.
Goods found, of which the owner is not known. These were originally such goods as a thief, when pursued, threw away to prevent being apprehended. They belong to the king, unless the owner makes fresh suit of the felon, takes him and brings him to justice.

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