loner

Etymology

It is formed from English lone + -er.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Lone is a shortening of alone, recorded from the late 14th century.^[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who keeps away from others: in 1946 Life magazine called the baseball player Ted Williams "something of a loner", and Etymonline suggests the word began in American baseball slang.^[6] The OED and Merriam-Webster date it to 1947, in the New Republic.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word soon applied to animals of solitary habits as well as people,^[4][3] and Collins labels it informal.^[7] In American slang it has also been used of an only child.^[8]

Timeline

• 1946 – a person who avoids company, of a baseball player.^[6] The OED's first record is from 1947.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who avoids the company of others or prefers to be alone; an individualist: She was a loner who ate lunch at her desk.^{[7][3][4][9][2]}
2. An animal that lives alone rather than in a group.^[3][4][7]

Related words

• lone
• alone
• lonely
• lone wolf

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin