noun
street cleaner; garbage man
Refers to a male worker who cleans streets or collects garbage. The term is somewhat dated; modern job titles often use 清掃員 or 清掃作業員.
清掃夫が毎朝、通りを掃除している。
The street cleaner cleans the street every morning.
彼は若い頃、清掃夫として働いていた。
When he was young, he worked as a garbage man.
A more specific and contemporary term for a garbage collector.
Compound of 清掃 (cleaning) and 夫 (man, laborer). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term follows a common pattern for occupational nouns.