squatter

Etymology

From squat + -er.

noun

1. One who squats, sits down idly.
2. One who occupies a building or land without title or permission.
   1. (Australia, historical) One who occupied Crown land.
      While settlement in New South Wales was initially confined, many moved outside the boundaries to become squatters, eventually consolidating their originally illegal hold on the land. 2004, James Jupp, The English in Australia, page 62
   2. (Philippines) A poor vagrant; An illegal informal settler; hobo; beggar; One suffering from extreme poverty.
3. (Australia, historical) A large-scale grazier and landowner.
   Down came the squatter, a'riding his thoroughbred, Down came policemen, one, two and three. 'Whose is the jumbuck you've got in the tucker bag? You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.' 1895, “Waltzing Matilda”, Banjo Paterson (lyrics)
   Boldrewood was a squatter, a magistrate and a commissioner of goldfields and knew thoroughly the life he described in Robbery Under Arms (1888), the story of the bushranger Captain Starlight—first serialised in The Sydney Mail in 1881—and in his numerous other novels, which included The Squatter′s Dream (1890). 1970, George Sampson, The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature, 3rd Edition, p.754
   In Parliament, at least, the squatters were secure. ¶ In the early 1840s a severe depression threatened livelihoods in all the colonies except South Australia and many squatters resorted to slaughtering their sheep and boiling them down for tallow. 1993, Manning Clark, Michael Cathcart (abridging editor), Manning Clark′s History of Australia: Abridged by Michael Cathcart, p.218
   His dealings with squatter R. R. McBean and superintendents Hare and Nicolson amaze the 16-year-old, who has little experience with the wealthy privileged class. 2010, Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Peter Carey: A Literary Companion, page 233
4. (informal) A squat toilet.
   All of the toilets in both the men's and women's sides were squatters. 2012, Randall L. Erickson, Traveling Business Class, page 54