short-timer
UK[ˈʃɔːt ˌtaɪmə]US[ˈʃɔːrt ˌtaɪmər]
n
A person who will soon leave a job, organization, or situation, especially because their period of service is nearly finished.
n
A person, especially a soldier, who has only a short period of service left before discharge.
Morpheme Breakdown
short
time
er
short
brief
time
period
er
person who
Etymology
The compound noun 'short-timer' is a modern American English formation, originating in the early 20th century, likely within military slang. It is constructed transparently from the native English elements 'short' and 'time', combined with the agent suffix '-er'. The term's logic is entirely literal, designating 'a person for whom a period (of service, employment, etc.) is brief or nearly concluded'. This straightforward compounding reflects a common pattern in English for creating informal, descriptive terms for specific social roles, with its meaning evolving from the basic concepts of duration and agency.
Analysis
Structure: short (brief) + time (period) + er (person who)
- short: From Old English sceort, of Germanic origin; meaning 'not long' or 'brief'.
- time: From Old English tīma, of Germanic origin; meaning 'a period' or 'duration'.
- er: From Old English -ere, an agent noun suffix; meaning 'a person who' or 'one associated with'.
Examples
Ever since he put in his notice, he's been acting like a real short-timer, barely doing the minimum required work.
In the army, short-timers often get assigned lighter duties as their discharge date approaches.
The manager knew morale was low because half the team were short-timers looking for other jobs.