stoner

Etymology

It is formed from English stone + -er, from the verb,^[2][3][4] first as stoner and staner, from stonen (“to stone”).^[5] The senses "jeweller" and "person weighing so many stone" are formed from the noun instead.^[2][3][6] The American Heritage Dictionary takes the slang sense, a habitual drug user, as formed from stoned with the suffix,^[7] and Green's Dictionary of Slang and Etymonline also connect it with stoned.^[8][4] An obsolete stonard, one who throws stones, glossing Latin lapidator, is recorded by about 1500.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who pelts someone with stones, especially to kill: before 1350, in a life of Saint Stephen.^[2] Etymonline dates stonere in this sense to the early 15th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century a stoner was also someone expert in precious stones, a lapidary: the Gesta Romanorum tells of a man who took a stone to a stoner to learn its virtue.^[6][2] The sense died out,^[2][3] while the agent noun of the verb gained technical uses: someone who builds walls with stones, a device that removes stones from fruit, and workers who rub leather or watch parts with stones.^[5][3] From 1862 it was combined with a numeral for a person weighing, or a horse carrying, so many stone.^[2][3] In Scotland, Berkshire and Dorset a stoner was a small hard marble made of stone, worth less than an "alley" but more than a "chalker".^[9] The slang sense, a habitual drug user, especially of cannabis, arose in the United States:^[2][8] the OED's first quotation is from 1971,^[2][8] though Etymonline dates it to the mid-1960s.^[4] The OED adds that it came to mean a person whose way of life is thought typical of a heavy cannabis user,^[2] and Collins extends it to someone habitually under the influence of drugs or alcohol.^[10]

Timeline

• before 1350 – a person who pelts someone with stones, especially to kill.^[2]
• c. 1440 – an expert in precious stones, a lapidary (obsolete).^[2][6]
• c. 1500 – stonard, a person who throws stones.^[4]
• 1862 – with a numeral, a person weighing or a horse carrying so many stone.^[2][3]
• 1971 – slang, a habitual drug user, especially of cannabis.^[2][8] Etymonline dates the sense to the mid-1960s.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (slang) A person who habitually uses cannabis or other drugs: The film follows two stoners on a road trip.^{[7][10][5][2][8]}
2. A person who pelts someone with stones, especially in order to kill.^[5][7][2]
3. A device for removing the stones from fruit such as cherries.^[10][5][3]
4. With a numeral, a person or thing that weighs so many stone.^[2][3]
5. (obsolete) An expert in precious stones; a lapidary.^[2][6][3]

Related words

• stoned

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
7. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c d e Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins