E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
A college servant, whose office is that of a gentlemans valet, waiting on two or more collegians in the University of Cambridge. He differs from a bed-maker, inasmuch as he does not make beds: but he runs on errands, waits at table, wakes men for morning chapel, brushes their clothes, and so on. His perquisites are innumerable, and he is called a gyp (vulture, Greek) because he preys upon his employer like a vulture. At Oxford they are called scouts.