A man or woman who follows or hangs on to a camp or army, without being in military service.
1784. Chelmsford Chron., 17 Sept., 2/1. In a march of near eleven hundred miles through the Maratta countries, there was not the smallest complaint against a single sepoy or a camp follower.
1810. Wellington, Lett., in Gurw., Disp., V. 464. The proceedings of the General Court Martial, on the trial of Edward Poole, camp follower.
1850. W. Irving, Mahomet, II. 265. Here he and several thousand of his soldiers and camp-followers were cut to pieces.
1876. Daily News, 3 Nov., 5/4. Those unfortunates who are known under the euphemistic appellation of ‘camp followers.’
