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Webster 1913 Edition

Scavenger

Scav′en-ger

,
Noun.
[OE.
scavager
an officer with various duties, originally attending to
scavage
, fr. OE. & E.
scavage
. See
Scavage
,
Show
,
Verb.
]
A person whose employment is to clean the streets of a city, by scraping or sweeping, and carrying off the filth. The name is also applied to any animal which devours refuse, carrion, or anything injurious to health.
Scavenger beetle
(Zool.)
,
any beetle which feeds on decaying substances, as the carrion beetle.
–
Scavenger crab
(Zool.)
,
any crab which feeds on dead animals, as the spider crab.
–
Scavenger’s daughter
[corrupt. of
Skevington's daughter
]
,
an instrument of torture invented by Sir W.
Skevington
, which so compressed the body as to force the blood to flow from the nostrils, and sometimes from the hands and feet.
Am. Cyc.

Webster 1828 Edition

Scavenger

SCAV'ENGER

,
Noun.
[L. scabio.]
A person whose employment is to clean the streets of a city, by scraping or sweeping and carrying off the filth.

Definition 2024

scavenger

scavenger

English

Alternative forms

  • skavenger (obsolete)

Noun

scavenger ‎(plural scavengers)

  1. Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.
  2. An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.
  3. (Britain, obsolete) A street sweeper.
  4. (chemistry) A substance used to remove impurities from the air or from a solution.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

scavenger ‎(third-person singular simple present scavengers, present participle scavengering, simple past and past participle scavengered)

  1. (archaic) To scavenge.
  2. (archaic) To clean the rubbish from a street, etc.

External links

Etymology

From Middle English scavager, from Anglo-Norman scawageour ‎(“one who had to do with scavage, inspector, tax collector”), from Old Northern French *scawage, escauwage ‎(“scavage”), Old French *scavage, escavage, alteration of escauvinghe (compare also Medieval Latin scewinga, sceawinga), from Old Dutch scauwōn ‎(“to inspect, to examinate, to look at”) (Compare schouwing ‎(“inspection”)). More at show.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈskæv.ən.dʒə(ɹ)/

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