toner

Etymology

It is formed from English tone + -er.^[2][3][4][5] The verb tone is from the noun,^[3] which is from Middle English ton, from Latin tonus (“sound, tone”), possibly through Old French ton, from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “strain, tension, pitch”), from τείνω (teínō, “to stretch”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A composer of songs or poetry: 1673, in Edward Howard's Miscellanies, a rare and obsolete sense.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1888, for something that gives tone.^[3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The OED, which revised the entry in 2025, groups the senses by the three meanings of tone: sound, condition, and colour or shade.^[2] From sound came a person who adjusts the timbre of an instrument, especially a piano (1848, now rare).^[2] From condition came a tonic for the body (1858, now rare), an exercise or device for firming a part of the body (1901), and a cosmetic applied to the skin to reduce oiliness and tighten the pores (1912).^[2] From colour came the photographic senses, a person who adjusts the tone of a print (1860) and a chemical solution that changes it (1898);^[2] Etymonline and the 1989 edition of the OED dated the chemical to 1920.^[3][7] A preparation for altering the colour of hair is recorded from 1948,^[2] and the pigmented powder used in electrostatic printing from 1954, in the RCA Review.^[2][3][7] Merriam-Webster also records a full-strength organic pigment.^[4][8]

Timeline

• 1673 – a composer of songs or poetry (obsolete).^[2]
• 1848 – a person who adjusts the tone of a piano.^[2]
• 1858 – a tonic.^[2]
• 1860 – a person who tones photographic prints.^[2]
• 1888 – that which imparts tone.^[3][4]
• 1898 – a chemical solution for altering the tone of a photograph.^[2]
• 1901 – an exercise or device for firming the body.^[2]
• 1912 – a cosmetic for the skin.^[2]
• 1948 – a preparation for altering the colour of hair.^[2]
• 1954 – the powder used in photocopiers and, later, laser printers.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fine powder, or a liquid, that forms the text and images in a photocopier or laser printer: The printer is out of toner.^[8][4][9][2]
2. A liquid or lotion applied to the skin, usually the face, to cleanse it, reduce oiliness or tighten the pores.^[8][4][9][2]
3. A preparation applied to the hair to soften or alter its colour.^[8][2]
4. In photography, a chemical solution that changes the colour of a print or preserves it.^[4][9][8][2]
5. A concentrated, full-strength organic pigment.^[4][8]
6. An exercise or device meant to make a part of the body firmer.^[2]

Related words

• tone
• tonic
• tune

Usage notes

Lincolnshire dialect had an unrelated toner, also teaner or twoner, a contracted form of "the one or the other".^[10]

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 d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ 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)