waif

noun7

1. •
   A person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support; also, a person excluded from society; an outcast.

   • But vvhat a vvretched, and disconsolate Hermitage is that House, vvhich is not visited by thee [God], and vvhat a VVayue, and Stray is that Man, that hath not thy Markes vpon him? — 1624
2. •
   A very thin person, especially a young one.

   • When we had done all the things there were to do, he passed out and I clung to his reassuringly solid, soft stomach—paternal, so different to the indie waifs—and cried. — 2021
3. •
   (figurative) Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.
4. •
   Something (such as clouds or smoke) carried by wind or water.

   • Hot as the brackish waifs of yellow spume That shift and steam — loose clots of arid fume From the sea's panting mouth of dry desire; There stands he, like one labouring at a loom. — 1862
5. •
   A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but not persistently naturalized.
6. •
   (historical) A small flag used as a signal.
7. •
   (UK, no longer used) 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.

   • waifs and strays

verb1

1. •
   To cast aside or reject, and thus make a waif.

noun1

1. •
   (informal, disapproving) A minor celebrity whose fame is unwarranted or undeserved.