scavenger

English

Alternative forms

• skavenger (obsolete)

Etymology

Originally 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 Medieval Latin scewinga, sceawinga), from Old Dutch scauwōn (“to inspect, to examinate, to look at”). Usually reinterpreted/re-analysed today as scavenge (which was originally a backformation from this word) +‎ -er. Compare Old English sċēawung (“a showing, spectacle, examination, inspection, toll on exposure of goods”) and Dutch schouwing (“inspection”). More at show.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Noun

scavenger (plural scavengers)

1. Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.

   garbage scavenger

   A scavenger picked through the rubbish heap.

3. An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.

   Vultures are natural scavengers.

4. (UK, Ireland, obsolete) A street sweeper.
5. (UK, Ireland, historical) A child employed to pick up loose cotton from the floor in a cotton mill.
6. (chemistry) A substance used to remove impurities from the air or from a solution.

Derived terms

• bioscavenger
• scaffy
• scavenger beetle
• scavenger crab
• scavenger hunt
• scavengerism
• scavengerous
• scavenger sale
• scavenger's daughter
• scavengership
• water scavenger beetle
• white scavenger vulture

Translations

Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things

• Arabic: نَبَّاش m (nabbāš), قَمَّام m (qammām).
• Bulgarian: боклуджия m (bokludžija)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 拾荒者 (Shíhuāngzhě)

• Czech: vybírač popelnic m
• Danish: skralder c
• Dutch: jutter (nl)
• Finnish: jätteiden keräilijä, roskien keräilijä
• German: Abfalldurchstöberer m, Mülldurchstöberer m
• Hungarian: guberáló (hu)
• Irish: bailitheoir m
• Italian: razzolatore m, spazzino (it) m
• Latin: colacarius m
• Māori: hamuhamu
• Polish: złomiarz (pl) m
• Portuguese: catador m
• Russian: помо́ешник m (pomóješnik)
• Spanish: reciclador m, reciclador de base m, (Mexico, Central America) pepenador (es) m, (Chile, Argentina) cartonero (es) m, (Venezuela, Argentina) excavador (es) m, (Caribbean, Central America) buzo (es) m
• Yoruba: túlẹ̀túlẹ̀, aṣalẹ̀

animal feeding on decaying matter

• Breton: gagnaouaer m
• Catalan: carronyaire m
• Czech: mrchožrout m
• Dutch: aaseter (nl) m
• Finnish: haaskaeläin (fi)
• French: animal nécrophage m, charognard (fr) m
• German: Aasfresser (de) m
• Greek: πτωματοφάγο n (ptomatofágo)
• Hebrew: אוכל נבלות (he)
• Hungarian: dögevő (hu)
• Italian: necrofago (it) m, saprofago (it) m
• Korean: 청소 동물 (cheongso dongmul)
• Macedonian: мршојадец m (mršojadec)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: åtseleter m

  Nynorsk: åtseletar m

• Polish: padlinożerca (pl)
• Portuguese: necrófago (pt) m, carniceiro (pt) m
• Russian: па́дальщик (ru) m (pádalʹščik)
• Slovene: mrhovinar m
• Spanish: carroñero (es) m, carroñera (es) f
• Swedish: asätare (sv) c
• Tagalog: sasaid
• Yoruba: jòkújòkú

street sweeper — see street sweeper

substance to remove impurities

• Bulgarian: очистител m (očistitel)
• German: Spülmittel (de) n
• Russian: поглоти́тель (ru) m (poglotítelʹ)

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.

Derived terms

• unscavengered

Further reading

• scavenger on Wikipedia.Wikipedia