Main Entry: scav·en·ger

Pronunciation: \ˈska-vən-jər\

Function: noun

Etymology: alteration of earlier scavager, from Anglo-French scawageour collector of scavage (duty collected from non-resident street merchants), from skawage scavage, from Middle French dial. (Flanders) escauver to inspect, from Middle Dutch scouwen; akin to Old English scēawian to look at — more at show

Date: 1530

1 chiefly British : a person employed to remove dirt and refuse from streets
2 : one that scavenges: as a : a garbage collector b : a junk collector c : a chemically active substance acting to make innocuous or remove an undesirable substance
3 : an organism that typically feeds on refuse or carrion