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Scavenger
Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2023 8:29 am
by Slava
It's come a long way from its original meaning. I wonder how many such words have not devolved into meaning something much lower.
Re: Scavenger
Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2023 12:46 pm
by bbeeton
Slava, you're tantalizing us, or are you sending us on a scavenger hunt?
(And that is *surely* not the original meaning of "scavenger".)
Re: Scavenger
Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2023 1:15 pm
by Slava
The original scavenger was the person who collected the fees for outsiders to sell their wares in the city. Then it became the person in charge of cleaning the streets. Now its a ... .
Re: Scavenger
Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2023 4:54 am
by DerekB
Quite right, but the Dec 20 Good Word lists the first meaning as "British) A street cleaner". To the best of my knowledge, the street cleaner meaning is no longer current in Britain and has not been for a very long time.