| Waif 1. (n.) A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child. 2. (n.) 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. 3. (n.) Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance. Thesaurus Entries Arab, beach bum, beachcomber, beggar, bo, bum, bummer, castaway, castoff, derelict, discard, dogie, flotsam, flotsam and jetsam, foundling, gamin, gamine, guttersnipe, hobo, homeless waif, idler, jetsam, junk, lagan, landloper, lazzarone, loafer, losel, mudlark, orphan, piker, ragamuffin, ragman, ragpicker, refuse, reject, rounder, rubbish, ski bum, stiff, stray, street Arab, street urchin, sundowner, surf bum, swagman, swagsman, tatterdemalion, tennis bum, tramp, trash, turnpiker, urchin, vag, vagabond, vagrant, waifs and strays, wastrel |