This week, the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt will once more take to the web to bring you a weekend of fun and discovery! I’ll be participating again, giving away a copy of The Collector of Burned Books (or any of my books, your choice), as well as participating in the Grand Prize. Keep an eye out for it to go live on Thursday afternoon!
And of course, thinking of the Hunt inspired me to look up the word scavenger, and wow! I had no idea where this one came from!
So scavenger dates from the late 1300s, when it was–get this–an official title for a London tax collector, specifically one charged with collecting tax on goods sold by foreign merchants. Its root word means “to inspect.”
Around 1540, the word had, er, gotten a downgrade. Instead of a tax collector, a scavenger was instead charged with collecting refuse from those London streets (ewwww). Though in the 1600s, it took on a bit more dignity again–it was the person in charge of inspection and maintenance of the streets. But it is definitely this idea of “the one who collects rubbish” that led to the current meaning of “someone who collects (and consumes, in the animal sense) what’s been scattered or discarded.”
The verb, scavenge, is actually a back-formation of the noun.
Word Nerds Unite!
Read More Word of the Week Posts
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. 
I didn’t know that the root word of scavenger means to inspect.
Woah! What an interesting background the word “scavenger” has had! I am definitely enjoying the scavenger hunt!
The history behind scavenger is very interesting. I have read quite a few banned books. I am really enjoying the scavenger hunt
Thanks for sharing the list of Banned Books and for being a part of this Scavenger Hunt! Blessings!
I always enjoy the word of the week. We do this in my Sunday School class also. Fun to learn new words.
Thank you for doing this. I’ve been praying for you.
I love being a rebel and reading “banned” books!
I love the CFSHs! They’re so much fun! I had no idea that that’s what scavenger meant. 😳 Not at all what I expected. Thanks so much for sharing that with us, and for participating in the Hunt! Love your books, Rosanna!
I have read at least 10 of the banned books 🙂
What a great list – 23 yep 23 I’ve read. Guess I’m reading dangerously.
Well done! I think you deserve a “Dangerous Reader” badge, LOL. 😉
This is very interesting about the banned books! I had no idea that some of my favorites were on the list!! I have read 8 of them!
Thank you!
I look forward to this hunt every time it is offered. Thanks to all the authors that put it together and the gifts that are offered.
I always enjoy the scavenger hunts and had no idea of the origin of the word, much less that it has had different meaning over time.
Thanks for doing the scavenger hunt!
I have had fun with the scavenger hunt. I always find new authors and books to delve into. Thank You for being a part of it.
Love the Hunt Thank you for sharing
I LOVE GETTING TO SEE AND KNOW NEW AUTHORS HERE. I HAVE RECENTLY FOUND YOUR PAGE ON MY SOCIAL MEIDA OUTLETS AND I HAVE ADDED YOUR BOOKS TO MY TBR ON GOODREADS TO CHECK OUT SOON. I ALSO SIGNED UP FOR THE HUGE GIVEAWAY WITH THE SCAVANGER HUNT. IT WAS SO COOL TO GET THOSE CLUES PLUS READ ABOUT THE OTHER AUTHORS.
The scavenger hunts are always so much fun. I have read a few of the books on the banned list: The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird were assigned reading in high school and I’ve also read the Diary of Anne Frank. There are also a few others I would like to read but haven’t yet.
The CFSH is always a Fall highlight!
I would not have guessed the word scavenger to have been around that long.
Historical fiction takes you to another time and place, and I love it! Thank you for the contest.