# scavenger

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #28,008

## Definitions
1. Someone who scavenges, especially one who searches through rubbish for food or useful things.
2. An animal that feeds on decaying matter such as carrion.
3. A street sweeper.
4. A child employed to pick up loose cotton from the floor in a cotton mill.
5. A substance used to remove impurities from the air or from a solution.

## 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.

## Common misspellings (14)
`csavenger`, `sacvenger`, `scaevnger`, `scavegner`, `scavenegr`, `scavengerr`, `scavengger`, `scavengre`, `scavennger`, `scavneger`, `scavvenger`, `sccavenger`, `scvaenger`, `sscavenger`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/scavenger