waif

n. 无家可归者, 无主物, 飘流物, 流浪者, 信号旗

发音

US /weɪf/
UK /weɪf/

词形变化

waifs 复数 waifed waifing waifs 三单 waifs waifing 现在分词 waifed 过去式 waifed 过去分词

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    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.

    古体 法律

    waifs and strays

  2. 2.

    Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.

    比喻
  3. 3.

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

    流浪儿

    比喻
  4. 4.

    A very thin person, especially a young one.

    比喻 引申义
  5. 5.

    A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but not persistently naturalized.

    比喻 生物 植物学 引申义
  6. 1.

    A small flag used as a signal.

    历史 航海 交通
  7. 1.

    Something (such as clouds or smoke) carried aloft by the wind.

v.
  1. 1.

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

    及物

词汇关系

名词

同义词 1

street child

上位词 10

kid child minor fry youngster nipper shaver tyke nestling small fry

词源

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.

来源：wiktionary