Adjacent Words

Timber definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TIM'BER, n. [L. domus, a house; Gr. the body.]
1. That sort of wood which is proper for building or for tools, utensils, furniture, carriages, fences, ships and the like. We apply the word to standing trees which are suitable for the uses above mentioned, as a forest contains excellent timber; or to the beams, rafters, scantling, boards, planks, etc. hewed or sawed from such trees. Of all the species of trees useful as timber, in our climate, the white oak and the white pine hold the first place in importance.
2. The body or stem of a tree.
3. The materials; in irony.
Such dispositions--are the fittest timber to make politics of.
4. A single piece or squared stick of wood for building, or already framed.
Many of the timbers were decayed.
5. In ships, a timber is a rib or curving piece of wood, branching outward from the keel in a vertical direction. One timber is composed of several pieces united in one frame.
TIM'BER, v.t. To furnish with timber. [See Timbered.]
TIM'BER, v.i. To light on a tree. [Not in use.]
1. In falconry, to make a nest.
Timber or timmer of furs, as of martens, ermines, sables and the like, denotes forty skins; of other skins, one hundred and twenty.
Timber of ermine, in heraldry, denote the ranks or rows of ermine in noblemen's coats.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the wood of trees cut and prepared for use as building material [syn: lumber, timber]
2: a beam made of wood
3: a post made of wood
4: land that is covered with trees and shrubs [syn: forest, woodland, timberland, timber]
5: (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound); "the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely"; "the muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet" [syn: timbre, timber, quality, tone]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, building, wood; akin to Old High German zimbar wood, room, Greek demein to build, domos course of stones or bricks Date: before 12th century 1. a. growing trees or their wood b. — used interjectionally to warn of a falling tree 2. wood suitable for building or for carpentry 3. material, stuff; especially a person or type of person qualified for a particular position or status <managerial timber> 4. a. a large squared or dressed piece of wood ready for use or forming part of a structure b. British lumber 2a c. a curving frame branching outward from the keel of a ship and bending upward in a vertical direction that is usually composed of several pieces united ; rib • timber adjective II. transitive verb (timbered; timbering) Date: before 12th century to frame, cover, or support with timbers

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 wood prepared for building, carpentry, etc. 2 a piece of wood or beam, esp. as the rib of a vessel. 3 large standing trees suitable for timber; woods or forest. 4 (esp. as int.) a warning cry that a tree is about to fall. Phrases and idioms: timber hitch a knot used in attaching a rope to a log or spar. timber wolf a type of large N. American grey wolf. Derivatives: timbering n. Etymology: OE, = building, f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Timber Tim"ber, n. [Probably the same word as timber sort of wood; cf. Sw. timber, LG. timmer, MHG. zimber, G. zimmer, F. timbre, LL. timbrium. Cf. Timmer.] (Com.) A certain quantity of fur skins, as of martens, ermines, sables, etc., packed between boards; being in some cases forty skins, in others one hundred and twenty; -- called also timmer. [Written also timbre.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Timber Tim"ber, n. [F. timbre. See Timbre.] (Her.) The crest on a coat of arms. [Written also timbre.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Timber Tim"ber, v. t. To surmount as a timber does. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Timber Tim"ber, n. [AS. timbor, timber, wood, building; akin to OFries. timber, D. timmer a room, G. zimmer, OHG. zimbar timber, a dwelling, room, Icel. timbr timber, Sw. timmer, Dan. t["o]mmer, Goth. timrjan to build, timrja a builder, L. domus a house, Gr. ? house, ? to build, Skr. dama a house. [root]62. Cf. Dome, Domestic.] 1. That sort of wood which is proper for buildings or for tools, utensils, furniture, carriages, fences, ships, and the like; -- usually said of felled trees, but sometimes of those standing. Cf. Lumber, 3. And ta'en my fiddle to the gate, . . . And fiddled in the timber! --Tennyson. 2. The body, stem, or trunk of a tree. 3. Fig.: Material for any structure. Such dispositions are the very errors of human nature; and yet they are the fittest timber to make politics of. --Bacon. 4. A single piece or squared stick of wood intended for building, or already framed; collectively, the larger pieces or sticks of wood, forming the framework of a house, ship, or other structure, in distinction from the covering or boarding. So they prepared timber . . . to build the house. --1 Kings v. 18. Many of the timbers were decayed. --W. Coxe. 5. Woods or forest; wooden land. [Western U. S.] 6. (Shipbuilding) A rib, or a curving piece of wood, branching outward from the keel and bending upward in a vertical direction. One timber is composed of several pieces united. Timber and room. (Shipbuilding) Same as Room and space. See under Room. Timber beetle (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of beetles the larv[ae] of which bore in timber; as, the silky timber beetle (Lymexylon sericeum). Timber doodle (Zo["o]l.), the American woodcock. [Local, U. S.] Timber grouse (Zo["o]l.), any species of grouse that inhabits woods, as the ruffed grouse and spruce partridge; -- distinguished from prairie grouse. Timber hitch (Naut.), a kind of hitch used for temporarily marking fast a rope to a spar. See Illust. under Hitch. Timber mare, a kind of instrument upon which soldiers were formerly compelled to ride for punishment. --Johnson. Timber scribe, a metal tool or pointed instrument for marking timber. --Simmonds. Timber sow. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Timber worm, below. --Bacon. Timber tree, a tree suitable for timber. Timber worm (Zo["o]l.), any larval insect which burrows in timber. Timber yard, a yard or place where timber is deposited.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Timber Tim"ber, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Timbered; p. pr. & vb. n. Timbering.] To furnish with timber; -- chiefly used in the past participle. His bark is stoutly timbered. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Timber Tim"ber, v. i. 1. To light on a tree. [Obs.] 2. (Falconry) To make a nest.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Timber is wood that is used for building houses and making furniture. You can also refer to trees that are grown for this purpose as timber. These Severn Valley woods have been exploited for timber since Saxon times.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Wood (for building). 2. Beam, squared stick. 3. Rib (of a ship's frame). 4. Trunk, stem, body (of a tree). 5. Material, stuff, stock. 6. [Western U. S.] Woods, forest-trees.

Moby Thesaurus

afforestation, arboretum, balk, bare pole, beam, beams, billet, board, boarding, boards, boondocks, bush, bushveld, character, chase, clapboard, climax forest, cloud forest, conifer, cord, cordwood, deal, dendrology, driftwood, evergreen, firewood, forest, forest land, forest preserve, forestry, fringing forest, fruit tree, gallery forest, girder, greenwood, hanger, hardwood, hardwood tree, index forest, jungle, jungles, lath, lathing, lathwork, log, lumber, mast, material, national forest, palmetto barrens, panelboard, paneling, panelwork, park, park forest, pine barrens, plank, planking, planks, plyboard, plywood, pole, pollard, post, potential, primeval forest, prospect, protection forest, puncheon, quality, rafter, rain forest, reforestation, sapling, scrub, scrubland, seedling, selection forest, shade tree, shake, sheathing, sheathing board, sheeting, shingle, shrubland, sideboard, siding, silviculture, slab, slat, softwood, softwood tree, spar, splat, sprout forest, stand of timber, state forest, stave, stick, stick of wood, stovewood, stuff, talent, three-by-four, timber tree, timbering, timberland, timberwork, tree, tree veld, two-by-four, virgin forest, weald, weatherboard, wildwood, wood, woodland, woods