Dictionary

boondocker en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bunduk Tagalog bundokbor. English boondock Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English boondocker From boondock + -er. Adopted by 1944 as U.S. services slang word for field boots during World War II under the U.S. military.

Meanings

1. A kind of combat boot worn in the US Marine Corps.
   • The correct method is to crawl out flat on top of the line, balancing yourself with one heavy boondocker boot hanging down as a counterweight. Then you let loose, and swoop! 1967, Erick Berry, Underwater Warriors: Story of the American Frogmen, page 9:
2. (US, informal) A person who lives in a rural location.
   • While these no/low-cost opportunities exist for freedom camping in the US, there is also a vast array of commercial sites offered by federal agencies at tariffs acceptable to the boondockers. 2018, C. Michael Hall, Dieter Müller, The Routledge Handbook of Second Home Tourism and Mobilities, page 324:
3. (US, informal) A party held in a rural location.
   • The party took place near 126th — a boondocker, which meant kegs in the back of pickup trucks and off-road lights pointed into the sky. 1994, T. M. McNally, Until Your Heart Stops, page 116:

Forms