n.
Pronunciation: ' ska-v ə n-j ə r
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 dialect (Flanders) escauver to inspect, from Middle Dutch scouwen; akin to Old English sc ē awian 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