camp follower
- a civilian not officially connected with a military unit, especially a prostitute, who follows or settles near an army camp.
- a person who sympathizes with or espouses the aims of a group without belonging to it.
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Origin of camp follower
First recorded in 1800–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for camp follower
Contemporary Examples
Otmar was in the Army and Margit turned into a camp-follower, moving across the country to an endless stream of training posts.
At U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Anniversary, One Survivor’s Quest ContinuesSandra McElwaine
April 29, 2013
Historical Examples
Another was sure she had been a camp-follower during the war.
The Spiritualists and the DetectivesAllan Pinkerton
She is only a camp-follower and protégée; and a compatriot of mine.
TanteAnne Douglas Sedgwick
Do not be as if you were to enlist as a soldier, and end as a camp-follower.
The Young Man and the WorldAlbert J. Beveridge
One of the properties of a lizard's camp-follower is to leave the main body at the slightest intimation of danger.
Cobwebs From an Empty SkullAmbrose Bierce (AKA: Dod Grile)
He may have been a camp-follower through the German and Flemish wars.
Children's Stories in American Literature, 1660-1860Henrietta Christian Wright
camp follower
- any civilian, esp a prostitute, who unofficially provides services to military personnel
- a nonmember who is sympathetic to a particular group, theory, etc
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with camp follower
camp follower
1
A civilian who follows or settles near a military camp, especially a prostitute who does so. For example, The recruits were told not to associate with camp followers. [Early 1800s]
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2
A person who sympathizes with a cause or group but does not join it. For example, She's only a camp follower so we can't count on her for a contribution.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.