"weif" meaning in Middle English

See weif in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /wæi̯f/
Etymology: From Anglo-Norman waif, from Old Norse veif (“flag”). Etymology templates: {{bor|enm|xno|waif}} Anglo-Norman waif, {{der|enm|non|veif|t=flag}} Old Norse veif (“flag”) Head templates: {{head|enm|nouns|g=|g2=|g3=|head=|sort=}} weif, {{enm-noun|pl=weifs}} weif (plural weifs) Forms: weifs [plural], wayf [alternative], wayff [alternative], waif [alternative], waife [alternative], wayph [alternative], weyff [alternative], weyf [alternative], wayve [alternative], weyve [alternative]
  1. Unowned goods; property lacking an owner:
    A waif; a castaway or vagabond.
    Sense id: en-weif-enm-noun-WPJSoZND Categories (other): Taxation Disambiguation of Taxation: 25 25 25 25
  2. Unowned goods; property lacking an owner:
    An unowned specimen of livestock.
    Sense id: en-weif-enm-noun-noAJl6OK Categories (other): Taxation Disambiguation of Taxation: 25 25 25 25
  3. The privilege of being able to take in such goods.
    Sense id: en-weif-enm-noun-wkhaKnKj Categories (other): Middle English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Law, Property law, Taxation Disambiguation of Middle English entries with incorrect language header: 14 14 49 22 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 6 6 61 27 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 5 5 63 27 Disambiguation of Law: 10 10 72 7 Disambiguation of Property law: 22 22 41 14 Disambiguation of Taxation: 25 25 25 25
  4. The money deriving from selling unowned goods.
    Sense id: en-weif-enm-noun-kUya~XFd Categories (other): Taxation Disambiguation of Taxation: 25 25 25 25

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "en",
            "2": "waif"
          },
          "expansion": "English: waif",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "English: waif"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "sco",
            "2": "waith",
            "3": "waff"
          },
          "expansion": "Scots: waith, waff",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Scots: waith, waff"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "waif"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman waif",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "veif",
        "t": "flag"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse veif (“flag”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Anglo-Norman waif, from Old Norse veif (“flag”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "weifs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wayf",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wayff",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waif",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waife",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wayph",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "weyff",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "weyf",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wayve",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "weyve",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "nouns",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "head": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "weif",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "pl": "weifs"
      },
      "expansion": "weif (plural weifs)",
      "name": "enm-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "25 25 25 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Taxation",
          "orig": "enm:Taxation",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Unowned goods; property lacking an owner:",
        "A waif; a castaway or vagabond."
      ],
      "id": "en-weif-enm-noun-WPJSoZND"
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "25 25 25 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Taxation",
          "orig": "enm:Taxation",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Unowned goods; property lacking an owner:",
        "An unowned specimen of livestock."
      ],
      "id": "en-weif-enm-noun-noAJl6OK"
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "14 14 49 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 6 61 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 5 63 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 10 72 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Law",
          "orig": "enm:Law",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "22 22 41 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Property law",
          "orig": "enm:Property law",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "25 25 25 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Taxation",
          "orig": "enm:Taxation",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The privilege of being able to take in such goods."
      ],
      "id": "en-weif-enm-noun-wkhaKnKj"
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "25 25 25 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Taxation",
          "orig": "enm:Taxation",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The money deriving from selling unowned goods."
      ],
      "id": "en-weif-enm-noun-kUya~XFd"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/wæi̯f/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "weif"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Middle English terms borrowed from Anglo-Norman",
    "Middle English terms derived from Anglo-Norman",
    "Middle English terms derived from Old Norse",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "enm:Law",
    "enm:Property law",
    "enm:Taxation"
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "en",
            "2": "waif"
          },
          "expansion": "English: waif",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "English: waif"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "sco",
            "2": "waith",
            "3": "waff"
          },
          "expansion": "Scots: waith, waff",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Scots: waith, waff"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "waif"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman waif",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "veif",
        "t": "flag"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse veif (“flag”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Anglo-Norman waif, from Old Norse veif (“flag”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "weifs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wayf",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wayff",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waif",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waife",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wayph",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "weyff",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "weyf",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wayve",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "weyve",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "nouns",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "head": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "weif",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "pl": "weifs"
      },
      "expansion": "weif (plural weifs)",
      "name": "enm-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Unowned goods; property lacking an owner:",
        "A waif; a castaway or vagabond."
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Unowned goods; property lacking an owner:",
        "An unowned specimen of livestock."
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The privilege of being able to take in such goods."
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The money deriving from selling unowned goods."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/wæi̯f/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "weif"
}

Download raw JSONL data for weif meaning in Middle English (2.1kB)

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Middle English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-16 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (074e7de and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.