Etymologically
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lone

Etymology and origin of the English word lone

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1377

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ləʊn/, US /loʊn/[1]

Etymology

It is a shortening of alone,[2][3][4][5][6] by mistaken division of alone as a lone, or by loss of the weakly stressed a-.[2][3][5][7] It is used before a noun, while alone is used after a verb, as live beside alive.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having no companion, solitary: 1377 in the OED, about 1378 in a version of Piers Plowman in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[8][2][3]

Semantic evolution

Unmarried, single or widowed, is from 1548, and is now said only of women, with mock-pathetic effect.[8] Standing apart from others of its kind is from 1667.[8] The Lone Star of the Texas flag is from 1843,[3][8] and the figurative lone wolf is American English from 1901.[3] Lonely is from 1607, in Shakespeare's Coriolanus,[2] and lonesome from 1647.[2]

Timeline

  • 1377 – solitary.[8]
  • 1548 – unmarried, widowed.[8]
  • 1607 – lonely.[2]
  • 1647 – lonesome.[2]
  • 1843 – Lone Star.[3][8]
  • 1901 – lone wolf.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Without companions; solitary: a lone motorist.
  2. Being the only one; sole.
  3. Standing by itself; isolated: a lone house.
  4. (literary) Lonely.
  5. Unmarried or widowed.

Word family

  • loneness
  • loner
  • lone star tick
  • lone wolf

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Lone.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/lone. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·