An idle, lounging fellow; by some derived from SANS TERRE; applied to persons, who, having no lands or home, lingered and loitered about. Some derive it from persons devoted to the Holy Land, SAINT TERRE, who loitered about, as waiting for company.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Save-all * SawNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes