Wai

n. [ OF. waif, gaif, as adj., lost, unclaimed, chose gaive a waif, LL. wayfium, res vaivae; of Scand. origin. See Waive. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Eng. Law.) Goods found of which the owner is not known; originally, such goods as a pursued thief threw away to prevent being apprehended, which belonged to the king unless the owner made pursuit of the felon, took him, and brought him to justice. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance. “Rolling in his mind old waifs of rhyme.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child. [ 1913 Webster ]

A waif
Desirous to return, and not received. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A waif. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. Icel. val choice, velja to choose, akin to Goth. waljan, G. wählen. ] To choose; to select. [ Obs. ] “Wailed wine and meats.” Henryson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep. [ 1913 Webster ]

Therefore I will wail and howl. Micah i. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wailed p. pr. & vb. n. Wailing. ] [ OE. wailen, weilen, probably fr. Icel. væla; cf. Icel. væ, vei, woe, and E. wayment, also OE. wai, wei, woe. Cf. Woe. ] To lament; to bewail; to grieve over; as, to wail one's death. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing. “The wail of the forest.” Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who wails or laments. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A woman who wails. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]