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Waif in Scrabble and Meaning

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What does waif mean? Is waif a Scrabble word?

How many points in Scrabble is waif worth? waif how many points in Words With Friends? What does waif mean? Get all these answers on this page.

Scrabble® and Words with Friends® points for waif

See how to calculate how many points for waif.

Is waif a Scrabble word?

Yes. The word waif is a Scrabble US word. The word waif is worth 10 points in Scrabble:

W4A1I1F4

Is waif a Scrabble UK word?

Yes. The word waif is a Scrabble UK word and has 10 points:

W4A1I1F4

Is waif a Words With Friends word?

Yes. The word waif is a Words With Friends word. The word waif is worth 10 points in Words With Friends (WWF):

W4A1I1F4

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Valid words made from Waif

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4-letter words (1 found)

WAIF,

3-letter words (2 found)

FAW,WAI,

2-letter words (4 found)

AI,AW,FA,IF,

You can make 7 words from waif according to the Scrabble US and Canada dictionary.

All 4 letters words made out of waif

waif awif wiaf iwaf aiwf iawf wafi awfi wfai fwai afwi fawi wifa iwfa wfia fwia ifwa fiwa aifw iafw afiw faiw ifaw fiaw

Note: these 'words' (valid or invalid) are all the permutations of the word waif. These words are obtained by scrambling the letters in waif.

Definitions and meaning of waif

waif

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /weɪf/
  • Rhymes: -eɪf

Etymology 1

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.

Noun

waif (plural waifs)

  1. (British, law, archaic) Often in the form waif and stray, waifs and strays: 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.
  2. (figuratively)
    1. Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance.
    2. A person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support; also, a person excluded from society; an outcast.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:vagabond
    3. (by extension) A very thin person.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:thin person
      Antonyms: see Thesaurus:fat person
    4. (by extension, botany) A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but not persistently naturalized.
Derived terms
  • waifish
  • waifishly
  • waifishness
  • waiflike
Related terms
  • waive
Translations

Verb

waif (third-person singular simple present waifs, present participle waifing, simple past and past participle waifed)

  1. (transitive) To cast aside or reject, and thus make a waif.
Translations

Etymology 2

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

Noun

waif (plural waifs)

  1. (nautical, chiefly whaling, historical) A small flag used as a signal.
Related terms
  • waff
  • waft
  • wheft
Translations

Etymology 3

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).

Noun

waif (plural waifs)

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

References

Further reading

  • waif and stray on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

Derived from English wife.

Noun

waif (plural waif dem, quantified waif)

  1. wife

Further reading

  • waif at majstro.com

Middle English

Noun

waif

  1. Alternative form of weif

Source: wiktionary.org