Dictionary

fellow traveller en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

For sense 2: calque of Russian попутчик (poputčik).

Meanings

1. One who travels together with another.
   • The arrangement of some seats facing and some one behind the other, bus fashion, seems a sensible compromise; I am one of those who do not enjoy staring at my fellow travellers for perhaps hours on end. 1964 July, Mary Allen, “A Woman's View of the New Coaches”, in Modern Railways, page 9:
2. One who sympathizes with the aims or beliefs of an organization without belonging to it; especially a Communist sympathizer.
   • Earlier in the year, Ohio Senator Robert Taft charged that Democratic congressional proposals "bordered on communism," while Joe Martin called for Republican victories in order to oust the Communists and fellow travelers from the federal government. 1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 42:
   • Near-synonym: camp follower
   • The summary case files used by the Internal Security Council, now declassified and available at the British National Archives, reveal how flimsy many of the cases against the detainees were: classifications could be as vague as "suspected communist", "communist sympathiser", "suspected communist sympathiser" and even "fellow traveller". 2023 February 2, “Sixty years since Operation Coldstore”, in We the Citizens:

Forms

Relateds

premature antifascist · fellow passenger · comsymp · card-carrying · fellow-travel · sputnik

Synonyms

camp follower

Translations (77)

nn medpassasjer (one who travels together with another) · cs sympatizant (one who sympathizes without belonging) · da medpassager (one who travels together with another) · uk супу́тник (one who travels together with another) · sv reskamrat (one who travels together with another) · ka თანამგზავრი (one who travels together with another) · cmn 同路人 (one who sympathizes without belonging) · tr yol arkadaşı (one who travels together with another) · bg спъ́тница (one who travels together with another) · it compagno di viaggio (one who travels together with another) · bg спъ́тник (one who travels together with another) · de Weggenosse (one who sympathizes without belonging) · ru спу́тник (one who travels together with another) · cs souputnice (one who travels together with another) · ru попу́тчик (one who travels together with another) · bg спъ́тничка (one who travels together with another) · de Mitreisender (one who travels together with another) · nb medpassasjer (one who travels together with another) · nl reisgenoot (one who travels together with another) · fo ferðafelagi (one who travels together with another) · ga comhthaistealaí (one who travels together with another) · mk со́патник (one who travels together with another) · uk попу́тниця (one who travels together with another) · udm сюресчи (one who travels together with another) · cmn 同路人 (one who travels together with another) · ru попу́тчица (one who travels together with another) · de Mitreisende (one who travels together with another) · pl współpasażerka (one who travels together with another) · fi myötäjuoksija (one who sympathizes without belonging) · gv cohroailtagh (one who travels together with another) · sh saputnik (one who sympathizes without belonging) · is samferðakona (one who travels together with another) · uk супу́тниця (one who travels together with another) · el συνταξιδιώτης (one who travels together with another) · ota آیاقداش (one who travels together with another) · de Sympathisant (one who sympathizes without belonging) · ru спу́тница (one who travels together with another) · yi נאָכלויפֿער (one who sympathizes without belonging) · lt bendrakeleivis (one who travels together with another) · cs souputník (one who travels together with another) · sh suputnica (one who travels together with another) · rsk сопутнїца (one who travels together with another) · fr sympathisant (one who sympathizes without belonging) · is samferðafólk (one who travels together with another) · uk попу́тник (one who travels together with another) · nn reisefelage (one who travels together with another) · be спадаро́жніца (one who travels together with another) · fi matkaseuralainen (one who travels together with another) · de Mitläufer (one who sympathizes without belonging) · tr yoldaş (one who travels together with another) · sl sopotnik (one who travels together with another) · da rejsekammerat (one who travels together with another) · fi kanssamatkustaja (one who sympathizes without belonging) · be спадаро́жнік (one who travels together with another) · hy ուղեկից (one who travels together with another) · ka თანამოგზაური (one who travels together with another) · ota یولداش (one who travels together with another) · nn reisefelle (one who travels together with another) · is samferðamaður (one who travels together with another) · rsk сопутнїк (one who travels together with another) · fr compagnon de route (one who sympathizes without belonging) · sh suputnik (one who travels together with another) · nb reisefelle (one who travels together with another) · pl współpasażer (one who travels together with another) · fr compagnon de voyage (one who travels together with another) · nl medereiziger (one who travels together with another) · sl sopotnica (one who travels together with another) · it compagno di viaggio (one who sympathizes without belonging) · pl sympatyk (one who sympathizes without belonging) · eo kunvojaĝanto (one who travels together with another) · nb reisekamerat (one who travels together with another) · mk сопа́тничка (one who travels together with another) · fi kanssamatkustaja (one who travels together with another) · ota رفیق (one who travels together with another) · da følgesvend (one who travels together with another) · fi matkakumppani (one who travels together with another) · pl sympatyczka (one who sympathizes without belonging)