A Camper Can Be a Person or a Vehicle
A camper is someone who camps, or the vehicle they camp in. English lets the same word name the doer and the equipment.
A camper is someone who camps, and also the van or trailer they sleep in. English does this often: a *cooker* is both a person and an appliance in British usage, a *sleeper* is a person and a railway carriage, a *diner* is a person and a restaurant. The agent suffix quietly attaches itself to objects as well as people.
- Someone who camps. *An experienced camper.*
- A camping vehicle. *A VW camper.*
- Happy camper — a contented person. *Not a happy camper.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | camper | A lone camper. |
| Plural | campers | Summer campers. |
| Verb | camp | Camp by the river. |
| Compound | campervan | A converted campervan. |
| Related | campsite | A quiet campsite. |
How it is used in a sentence
- They bought a camper for the summer.Vehicle.
- He is not a happy camper.Displeased.
- Campers must book in advance.People.
Words for both person and object
- camper — a person, and a van
- sleeper — a person, and a railway carriage
- cooker — a person, and a British word for a stove
- diner — a person, and a restaurant
- runner — a person, and a strip of carpet
From *camp*, from Latin *campus*, a field — the same word that gives us *campus* and, through Italian, *champion*.
Camper or campervan?
Campervan is the fuller British term. Camper alone can mean the vehicle or the person, and context settles it.
Where does *happy camper* come from?
From American summer camps. It is now used almost always in the negative, as *not a happy camper*.