Etymologically
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timer

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 25 October 2026 at 23:45. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈtaɪmɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English time + -er,[2][3][4][5] partly from the verb and partly from the noun.[2][3] Etymonline takes it as an agent noun from the verb.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A musician, perhaps one able to tune a keyboard instrument: before 1527, in William Peeris, a sense now obsolete.[2] The Shorter Oxford dates this sense, a person skilled in musical time, to the late 15th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

From 1648 a timer was a person who measures the time taken by something, especially a race;[2][4] Etymonline instead dates the word from 1841, for one who appoints or fixes times.[6] J. R. Lowell used it in 1842 for a time-server.[2] Watchmakers used it from 1876 for the worker who makes a watch keep exact time, and since 1880 it has meant a watch or clock judged by how well it keeps time.[2] As a device for measuring time it is recorded from 1869,[2] and Etymonline dates the sense "clock, watch", especially a stopwatch, by 1884.[6] An ignition timer in an engine is recorded from 1901,[2] and an automatic device for starting a process by 1908 in Etymonline,[6] and as a time switch from 1934 in the OED.[2] In combinations such as third timer it was criminal slang for someone who had served time in prison, from 1884.[7]

Timeline

  • before 1527 – a musician, a tuner (obsolete).[2]
  • 1648 – a person who times a race or activity.[2][4]
  • 1842 – a time-server (obsolete).[2]
  • 1869 – a device for measuring time.[2]
  • 1876 – a worker who regulates watches.[2]
  • 1881 – a horse or person that runs a course in a fast time.[2]
  • 1884 – in combinations, a criminal who has served time.[7]
  • 1901 – an ignition timer in an engine.[2]
  • 1934 – an automatic time switch.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A device that measures or shows time, especially one that signals when a set period has passed: She set the timer for twenty minutes.[8][4][2]
  2. A switch or device that starts or stops a machine at a set time or at set intervals.[8][2]
  3. A person who times something, especially a race; a timekeeper.[8][4][2]
  4. A device in an internal combustion engine that times the ignition spark.[4][2]
  5. A person or horse that completes a course in a given time, as in fast timer.[2]

Word family

  • first-timer
  • full-timer
  • part-timer
  • short-timer
  • egg timer
  • timekeeper

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 r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  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 Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins