scavenger English · revision 2410

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈskævɪndʒə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈskævəndʒɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an alteration of Middle English ''scavager'',^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[bor|xno|scawageour|t=collector of scavage]],^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) from ''scawage'', a duty on goods sold by merchants from elsewhere,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) from Old North French ''escauwage'' “inspection”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) of Germanic origin and related to English [[show]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The ''n'' before the last syllable developed in the 1500s, as in [[messenger]] and [[passenger]].^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A London official who collected a toll on goods offered for sale by non-resident merchants (1373 as ''scawageour'').^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The scavagers' duties came to include keeping the streets clean,^(Etymonline) so by 1530 a ''scavenger'' was a person hired to remove refuse from the streets.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) From 1596 the word was applied to animals that feed on decaying matter,^(OED 1989) and figuratively to people who do dirty work or collect filth.^(OED 1989) In 19th-century cotton mills a scavenger was a child who picked up loose cotton from the floor.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) In chemistry it names a substance that removes impurities.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1373 – ''scawageour'', a collector of duty on goods.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1530 – a person employed to clean the streets.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1562 – figurative, one who does dirty work.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1596 – an animal feeding on decaying matter.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1833 – a child picking up waste cotton in a mill.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An animal, such as a vulture or a beetle, that feeds on dead or decaying matter.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A street cleaner.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' A substance that removes or neutralizes impurities.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[scavenger hunt]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scavenge]]

+ * [[show]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}