The American word "bummer" meaning tramp or hobo dates from the mid-19th century and derives from the German "bummel" (stroll, spree) and "bummler" (loafer, saunterer). Civil War mavens will recognize it as the 1860s' equivalent of "garrit-trooper", a soldier hanging around in a rear area where he doesn't have to fight but is not expected to be particularly clean. It can also mean forager or even looter.