hobo vs waif

hobo

noun
  • A wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed bum. 

  • Any migratory laborer, whether homeless or not. 

  • A kind of large handbag. 

verb
  • To be a hobo, tramp, bum etc. 

waif

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

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

  • 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 hobo and waif occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )