waif

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

waif [waif waifs] BrE [weɪf] NAmE [weɪf] noun
a small thin person, usually a child, who looks as if they do not have enough to eat
•the waifs and strays of our society (= people with no home)
Derived Word: ↑waif-like

Word Origin:
late Middle English: from an Anglo-Norman French variant of Old Northern French gaif, probably of Scandinavian origin. Early use was often in waif and stray, as a legal term denoting a piece of property found and, if unclaimed, falling to the lord of the manor.