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One who avenges or vindicates; as, an avenger of blood.

A female avenger. [Obs.] Spenser.

o applied to any animal which devours refuse, carrion, or anything injurious to health. Scavenger beetle (Zoöl.), any beetle which feeds on decaying substances, as the carrion beetle. -- Scavanger crab (Zoöl.), any crab which feeds on dead animals, as the spider crab. -- Scavenger's daughter Etym: [corrupt. of Skevin…

digging away the earth beneath them. The larvæ feed upon decaying flesh, and are useful scavengers. -- To bury the hatchet, to lay aside the instruments of war, and make peace; -- a phrase used in allusion to the custom observed by the North American Indians, of burying a tomahawk when they conclude a peace.…

l species and genera, resembling both the eagles and the vultures. The caracaras act as scavengers, and are also called carrion buzzards.

n bird of several species and genera (as Ibycter, Milvago, and Polyborus), which act as scavengers. See Caracara. -- Carrion crow, the common European crow (Corvus corone) which feeds on carrion, insects, fruits, and seeds.

despised by society. Pariah dog (Zoöl.), a mongrel race of half-wild dogs which act as scavengers in Oriental cities. -- Pariah kite (Zoöl.), a species of kite (Milvus govinda) which acts as a scavenger in India.

One of the triad of Hindoo gods. He is the avenger or destroyer, and in modern worship symbolizes the reproductive power of nature.

An avenger. [Obs.] Spenser.

Avenger. [Obs.] The stork, the wrekere of avouterye [adultery]. Chaucer.