mudlark

Etymology

From mud + lark.

noun

1. (slang, now rare) A pig; pork.
2. (now rare, chiefly historical) One who scavenges in river or harbor mud for items of value, especially in London.
   Besides these, there were the mudlark and the scupple hunter: the former prowling about at low water, receiving in his small bag such petty packages as he could get from his dishonest friends on board; and the later sneaking about the wharves and quays, under the pretense of wanting work, to pick up everything and anything that came to hand. 1799, George Mogridge, Old Humphrey's walks in London and its neighbourhood, Religious Tract Society, page 286
   She removes only what the water ‘delivers’ to her – items she can see lying on the surface. Unlike some other mudlarks, she does not dig for finds. 2019 August, Neil Armstrong, “A Real Muck Raker”, in Literary Review
   Dr. Fiona Haughey, a London archaeologist who has worked on the Thames since the 1990s, said that although some mudlarks are looking for valuables, others are looking for a connection with the everyday objects of a bygone Britain. 2020-02-12, Megan Specia, “Mudlarks Scour the Thames to Uncover 2,000 Years of Secrets”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. A child who plays in the mud; a child that spends most of its time in the streets, a street urchin.
   the children were nothing like inert: a large population of junior mudlarks, so long unwashed that you could hardly make them out, climbed among the ruins, cheerfully playing the games that all children play – pushing wheels with sticks, flipping rusty lids and bottle caps in makeshift tiddlywinks. 1995, Isabel Fonseca, Bury Me Standing, Vintage, published 2007, page 104
4. (slang) A soldier of the Royal Engineers.
5. (UK, regional) Any of various birds that are found in muddy places or build their nests with mud, especially Anthus petrosus and Alauda arvensis.
6. (Australia) The Grallina cyanoleuca that builds its nest with mud into a bowl-like shape.
7. A racehorse that performs well on muddy or wet tracks.

verb

1. (intransitive) To scavenge in river or harbor mud for items of value.