Other forms: scavengers
A scavenger is a creature that feeds on what is already dead. Vultures are scavengers, a scavenging bird, scavengers cleared the carcass.
Scavengers are essential rather than merely unpleasant: without them, carcasses would remain and disease would spread, and vulture declines in India caused measurable public health problems. Most predators scavenge when they can, because it is cheaper than hunting. Note scavenger hunt, the party game; and that the word originally meant a street cleaner and a tax inspector, which is an unusually complete career change.
1nounscavengerA creature that feeds on what is already dead.
“Vultures and other scavengers soon gathered around the dead zebra.”
scavenger is a feeder on the dead.
sca-VENGer → behind the TAVERN
Behind the tavern the birds pick at what the people left.
hooks ontotavern
Anglo-Norman scawageour was an official who collected scavage, a toll on goods shown for sale, and who later also cleaned the streets. The animal sense came from the street cleaning, and the tax has been forgotten entirely.
Old Dutch
scauwōn — to inspect, to examinate, to look at
Old French
*scavage
fro-nor
*scawage
Anglo-Norman
scawageour — one who had to do with scavage, inspector, tax collector
Middle English
scavager
English, today
scavenger
Built from
Originally from Middle English scavager, from Anglo-Norman scawageour (“one who had to do with scavage, inspector, tax collector”), from fro-nor 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. See also messenger and passenger.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA