Hypertext Webster Gateway: "squatter"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Squat \Squat\, n.
1. The posture of one that sits on his heels or hams, or
close to the ground.
2. A sudden or crushing fall. [Obs.] --erbert.
3. (Mining)
(a) A small vein of ore.
(b) A mineral consisting of tin ore and spar. --Halliwell.
Woodward.
{Squat snipe} (Zo["o]l.), the jacksnipe; -- called also
{squatter}. [Local, U.S.]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Squatter \Squat"ter\, n.
1. One who squats; specifically, one who settles unlawfully
upon land without a title. In the United States and
Australia the term is sometimes applied also to a person
who settles lawfully upon government land under permission
and restrictions, before acquiring title.
In such a tract, squatters and trespassers were
tolerated to an extent now unknown. --Macaulay.
2. (Zo["o]l.) See {Squat snipe}, under {Squat}.
{Squatter sovereignty}, the right claimed by the squatters,
or actual residents, of a Territory of the United States
to make their own laws. [Local, U.S.] --Bartlett.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
squatter
n 1: someone who settles lawfully on government land with the
intent to acquire title to to it [syn: {homesteader}, {nester}]
2: someone who settles on land without right or title
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