Scavenger \Scav"en*ger\, n. [OE. scavager an officer with various duties, originally attending to scavage, fr. OE. & E. 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.

Scavenger beetle (Zo["o]l.), any beetle which feeds on decaying substances, as the carrion beetle.

Scavenger crab (Zo["o]l.), any crab which feeds on dead animals, as the spider crab.

Scavenger's daughter [corrupt. of Skevington'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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)