[weyf] 
| 1. | a person, esp. a child, who has no home or friends. |
| 2. | something found, esp. a stray animal, whose owner is not known. |
| 3. | a stray item or article: to gather waifs of gossip. |
| 4. | Nautical. waft (def. 8). |
[waft, wahft] | 1. | to carry lightly and smoothly through the air or over water: The gentle breeze wafted the sound of music to our ears. |
| 2. | to send or convey lightly, as if in flight: The actress wafted kisses to her admirers in the audience. |
| 3. | Obsolete. to signal to, summon, or direct by waving. |
| 4. | to float or be carried, esp. through the air: The sound wafted on the breeze. The music wafted across the lake. |
| 5. | a sound, odor, etc., faintly perceived: a waft of perfume. |
| 6. | a wafting movement; light current or gust: a waft of air. |
| 7. | the act of wafting. |
| 8. | Also, waif. Nautical. a signal given by waving a flag. |
| waft (wäft, wāft) v. waft·ed, waft·ing, wafts v. tr.
To float easily and gently, as on the air; drift: "It was a heat that wafted from streets, rolled between buildings and settled over sidewalks" (Sarah Lyall). n.
[Back-formation from wafter, convoy ship, alteration of Middle English waughter, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German wachter, a guard, from wachten, to guard; see weg- in Indo-European roots.] waft'er n. |
| waif 1 (wāf) n.
[Middle English, ownerless property, stray animal, from Anglo-Norman, probably of Scandinavian origin; see weip- in Indo-European roots.] |
| waif 2 (wāf) n. Nautical See waft. [Probably of Scandinavian origin; see weip- in Indo-European roots.] |
