Ever catch a raccoon in your garbage can? The critter is a scavenger, digging around for whatever it can find to eat. In fact, anything or anybody searching for and collecting what others have tossed away is a scavenger.
Originally the Middle English word skavager referred to a customs collector who collected scavage, or a toll on foreign goods brought in to sell. In the late 14th Century, scavengers were people hired to clean the streets. Later, the word was used for animals who ate decaying creatures. Later still, the "scavenger hunt" became popular as a game where people have to find items on a list. Anyone who hunts for and collects castoffs could be called a scavenger.
