immigrant vs waif

immigrant

noun
  • A plant or animal that establishes itself in an area where it previously did not exist. 

  • A non-native person who comes to a country from another country to permanently settle there. 

adj
  • Of or relating to immigrants or the act of immigrating. 

waif

noun
  • A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but is not persistently naturalized. 

  • A person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support; also, a person excluded from society; an outcast. 

  • A very thin person. 

  • Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance. 

  • A small flag used as a signal. 

  • Something (such as clouds or smoke) carried aloft by the wind. 

verb
  • To cast aside or reject, and thus make a waif. 

How often have the words immigrant and waif occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )