Waif
Waif , noun
[Old French waif, gaif, as adj., lost, unclaimed, chose gaive a waif, Late Latin wayfium, res vaivae; of Scand. origin. See Waive.]
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
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.
3.
A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child.
A waif
Desirous to return, and not received.