Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a seducer.

c.1760		‘The Rakes of Stony Batter’ in A. Carpenter Verse in Eng. in 18C Ireland (1998) 340: Keep your Wife at home, for humpers will be at her.
c.1800		‘The Rakes of Stony Batter’ in Holloway & Black (1975) I 224: [as previous].
1919		Transcript Dunn Inq. in L.R. Murphy Perverts by Official Order (1989) 25: He is what is termed in the Navy as a ‘boy humper,’ making dates with them.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 90: men who fuck hard and fast [...] humper-and-a-bumper.
1979		‘Iceberg Slim’ Airtight Willie and Me 171: That li’l humper’s ass is pretty enough to make Cecil a Sunday face.
1993		B. Moore Lex. of Cadet Lang. 192: usage: ‘Schlong reckons he’s the most accomplished humper since Casanova.’.
1999		People (Sydney) 5 July 65/3: The holy humper - who’s got six sprogs - also reckons it’s A-OK for chicks to get down on their knees and pray before the bald-headed god of love.

2. (Aus.) a vagrant.

1900

Bulletin (Sydney) 3 Mar. 14/3: Weary Humper: ‘Any great events been comin’ off up in the town lately, Billy?’ / Billy: ‘My word, yes – lots.’.

3. a carrier of heavy objects, esp. in rock music use describing those who lift a band’s equipment.

1911		E. Dyson ‘On a Bender’ in Benno and Some of the Push 74: We scarcely knoo we had him erbout us, till he’d got his small load, ’n’ was tearin’ orf his rags t’ fight a fifteen-stone mutton ’umper.
1981		M. Baker Nam (1982) 43: I’d be an ammo humper for a while and then work up to assistant gunner.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 437: A few humpers and roadies stopped what they were doing to watch.

4. (US) a thing, poss. annoying.

1976

C. Durden No Bugles, No Drums 243: Y’ got a letter [...] Yeah, here’s the humper.

5. (US) a hard-working person.

1976		(con. 1969) C.R. Anderson Grunts 106: ‘Hey, you see that new second looey?’ ‘Yeah, a real humper, eh?’.
2001		N. Barlay Hooky Gear 57: All them geezers, builders, penny-a-dozen subcontractors, plumbers, roofers, Situsec crews, chippies, lekkies, humpers, glaziers, cowboys, bodgers an odd-jobbers buildin an repairin whole towns.