Waif
Origin
Middle English weif, waif, from Anglo-French, from waif, adjective, stray, unclaimed, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse veif something flapping, veifa to be in movement
Definitions
- 2a : something found without an owner and especially by chance
Description
A waif (from the Old French guaif, stray beast) is a living creature removed, by hardship, loss or other helpless circumstance, from its original surroundings. The most common usage of the word is to designate a homeless, forsaken or orphaned child, or someone whose appearance is evocative of the same.
As such, the term is similar to a ragamuffin or street urchin, although the main distinction is volitional: a runaway youth might live on the streets, but would not properly be called a waif as the departure from one's home was an exercise of free will. Likewise, a person fleeing their home for purposes of safety (as in response to political oppression or natural disaster), is typically considered not a waif but a refugee.
In nautical terms, a waif is any survivor of a shipwreck compelled to make land upon a foreign shore. In this sense it is roughly synonymous with castaway,(see Marooned) although the latter term is generally associated with isolation; a waif (in the nautical sense) usually indicates a survivor of a marine disaster who has fallen into the care or custody of others.
The noun waif has a secondary nautical meaning, referring to any message that has been received via flag signals. However, in that context the etymology is most likely divergent, springing instead from the Old Norse veif, a back-and-forth movement.
Dating from the Middle Ages, when a woman was proscribed and subjected to penalties of outlawry, she was said to be “waived” and called a "waif". This waiving of the law was tantamount to outlawry since it removed all protection of the law. Women in this status were outside of the "law", and others could kill them on sight as if they were wild animals.
In fashion and related popular culture, the term "waif" is commonly used to describe an incredibly thin person, usually a woman.
"The waif look" was used in the 1960s to describe thin, large-eyed models such as Twiggy, Edie Sedgwick and Dorothee Bis. The "gamine" look of the 1950s, associated with actresses like Audrey Hepburn (who starved as a teenager during the Dutch famine of 1944), Leslie Caron and Jean Seberg, was, to some extent, a precursor.
The term "waif" was seemingly ubiquitous in the 1990s, with heroin chic fashion and models like Kate Moss and Jaime King on the runways and in advertisements. Actresses like Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart, Winona Ryder, recently the British actress Keira Knightley and singer Celine Dion have all been pinned with the term.
