SCAVENGER


Meaning of SCAVENGER in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈska-vən-jər ]

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 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

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.