Sutler

Sutler, a camp-follower who sells provisions, liquor and other supplies to an army in the field, in camp or in quarters.

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The word, like numerous other naval and military terms, came into English from the Dutch, where it appears as soetelaar or zoetelaar.

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It meant originally "one who does dirty work, a drudge, a scullion", and derives from zoetelen (to foul, sully), a word cognate with "suds" (hot soapy water), "seethe" (to boil) and "sodden".

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Camp-follower: A camp follower is a term used to identify civilians who follow in the wake of armies or service their needs whilst encamped, in order to sell goods or services that the military does not supply. These can include cooking, laundering, liquor, nursing, sexual services and sutlery. The term is also so...

Army: Army (from French arm?e) can, in some countries, refer to any armed force. More commonly, however, it is only used specifically to refer to a land force of the military....