Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Waft

Waft , transitive verb

[Probably originally imp. & past participle of wave, transitive verb See Wave to waver.]

1.
To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [Obsolete]
But soft: who wafts us yonder? — Shakespeare
2.
To cause to move or go in a wavy manner, or by the impulse of waves, as of water or air; to bear along on a buoyant medium; as, a balloon was wafted over the channel.
A gentle wafting to immortal life. — Milton
Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul, And waft a sigh from Indus to the pole. — Pope
3.
To cause to float; to keep from sinking; to buoy. [Obsolete] — Sir T. Browne

This verb is regular; but waft was formerly sometimes used, as by Shakespeare, instead of wafted.

Waft , intransitive verb

To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.
And now the shouts waft near the citadel. — Dryden

Waft , noun

1.
A wave or current of wind.
Everywaft of the air. — Longfellow
In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains In one wide waft. — Thomson
2.
A signal made by waving something, as a flag, in the air.
3.
An unpleasant flavor. [Obsolete]
4.
(Nautical) A knot, or stop, in the middle of a flag.

A flag with a waft in it, when hoisted at the staff, or half way to the gaff, means, a man overboard; at the peak, a desire to communicate; at the masthead, “Recall boats.”