Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “scavenger” come from?

Scavenger comes from Middle English scavager, from Anglo-Norman scawageour, from Old French escauwage, from Old French escauvinghe, from Middle English shewing, from Old English sċēawung meaning inspection or examination.

scavenger (English): Someone who scavenges, especially one who...

Definitions

  1. Someone who scavenges, especially one who...

Ancestry of “scavenger”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishscavager—
2Anglo-Normanscawageourone who had to do with scavage, inspector, tax...
3Frenchscawage—
4Old Frenchscavage—
5Old Frenchescavage—
6Old Frenchescauvinghescavage
7Middle Englishshewingpresent participle of shew
8Old Englishsċēawunginspection, contemplation; a showing, spectacle,...
9Old English-ungforming nouns from verbs, denoting verbal action...
10Proto-Germanic-ungō-ing, -ion. "Forms gerund nouns from verbs."

Words derived from “scavenger”

  • scaffie
  • scaffy
  • bioscavenger
Every word from Proto-Germanic -ungō →