Scavenger
Scavenger , noun
[Old English scavager an officer with various duties, originally attending to scavage, from Old English & English scavage. See Scavage, Show, v.]
A person whose employment is to clean the streets of a city, by scraping or sweeping, and carrying off the filth. The name is also applied to any animal which devours refuse, carrion, or anything injurious to health.
Collocations (3)
Scavenger beetle (Zoology) , any beetle which feeds on decaying substances, as the carrion beetle.
Scavenger crab (Zoology) , any crab which feeds on dead animals, as the spider crab.
Scavenger's daughter , an instrument of torture invented by Sir W. Skevington, which so compressed the body as to force the blood to flow from the nostrils, and sometimes from the hands and feet. — Am. Cyc