Etymology

waif

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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Middle English weif ← Anglo-Norman waif ← Old French waif
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waif · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*weyp-“to oscillate, swing”
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*waif-
  3. Old Norse · derived fromveif“flag; waving thing”
  4. Old French · derived fromwaif
  5. Anglo-Norman · derived fromwaif
  6. Middle English · inherited fromweif“ownerless property subject to seizure and forfeiture; the right of such seizure and forfeiture; revenues obtained from such seizure and forfeiture”
  7. English todaywaif

The noun is derived from Late Middle English weif (“ownerless property subject to seizure and forfeiture; the right of such seizure and forfeiture; revenues obtained from such seizure and forfeiture”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman waif, weif [and other forms] (compare Anglo-Latin waivum [and other forms], Medieval Latin waivium), possibly from Old French waif, a variant of gaif, gayf (“property that is lost and unclaimed; of property: lost and unclaimed”) (Norman) [and other forms], probably from a North Germanic source such as Old Norse veif (“flag; waving thing”), from Proto-Germanic *waif-, from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to oscillate, swing”). The verb is derived from the noun.

waif · noun2

  1. Old Norse · derived fromveif“flag; waving thing”
  2. English todaywaif

Possibly from Old Norse veif (“flag; waving thing”); see further at etymology 1.

waif · noun3

Origin unknown; possibly related to the following words: * waff (“waving movement; gust or puff of air or wind; odour, scent; slight blow; slight attack of illness; glimpse; apparition, wraith; of the wind: to cause (something) to move to and fro; to flutter or wave to and fro in the wind; to produce a current of air by waving, to fan”) (Northern England, Scotland), a variant of waive (etymology 2) or wave (see further at those entries). * Middle English wef, weffe (“bad odour, stench, stink; exhalation; vapour; tendency of something to go bad (?)”) [and other forms], possibly a variant of either: ** waf, waif, waife (“odour, scent”), possibly from waven (“to move to and fro, sway, wave; to stray, wander; to move in a weaving manner; (figuratively) to hesitate, vacillate”), from Old English wafian (“to wave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”); or ** wef (“a blow, stroke”), from weven (“to travel, wander; to move to and fro, flutter, waver; to blow something away, waft; to cause something to move; to fall; to cut deeply; to sever; to give up, yield; to give deference to; to avoid; to afflict, trouble; to beckon, signal”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Old English wefan (“to weave”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”)), or from wǣfan (see bewǣfan, ymbwǣfan).

WAIF · noun4

A humorous reinterpretation of waif as an initialism for why am I famous?

Words from the same roots

Old Frenchwaif all →

waive

Proto-Indo-European*weyp- all →

whipwipevibrate

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.