Timber 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.
timber
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]
timber
O.E. timber "building, structure," later "building material, trees
suitable for building," and "wood in general," from P.Gmc. *temran, from
PIE *dem-/*dom- "build" (source of Gk. domos). The O.E. verb timbran,
timbrian was the chief word for "to build." The nautical slang sense is of
"pieces of wood composing the frames of a ship's hull."
timber I. nounEtymology: 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.Britishlumber 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
• timberadjectiveII. transitive verb
(timbered; timbering)
Date: before 12th century to frame, cover, or support with timbers
timber 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
timber
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.N-UNCOUNT
timber
ˈtɪmbə 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. øtimber hitch a knot used in attaching a rope to a log
or spar. timber wolf a type of large N. American grey wolf. øøtimbering
n. [OE, = building, f. Gmc]
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.]
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.
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.
timber
ˈtɪmbə n.
1 trees, forest, woodland: The standing timber has been seriously depleted in Brazil.
2 wood, beams, boards, planks, US and Canadian lumber: The timber for our new house
arrived today.
3 material, potential, stuff, character, quality, talent, prospect: Agatha seems to be
good management timber.
On most web browsers you can double click any word on this page to see what definitions I have for that word.
This dictionary server is not an authoratative source of information for anything. Like almost everything at sorabji.com, I set this up for my own purposes. In this case the purpose is to
browse words and ideas at random. An automatically generated page that produces 1000 Random Words
is my gateway to this resource. I also attempt a word of the day project,
in which I attempt to write something about myself starting with interesting words that I find through the Wordswarm Random Words Pages. I have made
available the complete 1828 Webster's Dictionary, which many feel is the greatest English dictionary ever published.
Other random links of mine include the Sorabji.com Random Link, which sends you to one of
over 7,000 pages on my web sites; the Face Server produces random images of
human faces; clicking the Random WAYD link shows you a random posting to my "What Are You Doing?" board; the Random USPS
Mailbox link sends you to a page with information about a random mailbox; and the random pictures page page of sorabji.com shows one of over 11,000 random images any time you load the page. On an unrelated note, I have begun making several thousand pages of legal documents searchable.