earner

Etymology

It is formed from English earn + -er.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who earns money or a living: 1602, in Copley's Another Letter to Dis-iesuited Kinseman.^[1][3] Etymonline dates the word to the 1610s.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word could be used of a thing as well as a person, and figuratively; it is often used with a modifying word,^[1] as in wage earner.^[3] The colloquial sense of an activity that brings in money, often in a nice little earner, an easy or shady source of profit, is recorded from 1970;^[1] Green's Dictionary of Slang traces it to criminal slang, with an Australian record of 1967.^[4] Collins labels it British and Australian informal.^[5]

Timeline

• 1602 – a person or thing that earns money or a living.^[1][3] Etymonline dates the word to the 1610s.^[2]
• 1967 – slang, money or a job that pays well, usually by illicit means.^[4]
• 1970 – an activity that brings in money, in a nice little earner.^[1][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who earns money, often in compounds such as wage earner or high earner.^[5][3][1]
2. Something that brings in money: The sequel was the studio's biggest earner that year.^[3][1]
3. (British and Australian, informal) An activity that brings in money easily, often illicitly, especially in a nice little earner.^[5][1][4]

Word family

• wage earner

Related words

• earn

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
5. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins