Timber
Timber , noun
[Probably the same word as timber sort of wood; compare Swedish timber, LG. timmer, Middle High German zimber, German zimmer, French timbre, Late Latin timbrium. Compare Timmer.]
(Commerce) 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.
Timber , noun
[French timbre. See Timbre.]
(Heraldry) The crest on a coat of arms.
Timber , transitive verb
To surmount as a timber does. [Obsolete]
Timber , noun
[Anglo-Saxon timbor, timber, wood, building; akin to OFries. timber, Dutch timmer a room, German zimmer, Old High German zimbar timber, a dwelling, room, Icelandic timbr timber, Swedish timmer, Danish tommer, Gothic timrjan to build, timrja a builder, Latin domus a house, Greek {not transcribed} house, {not transcribed} to build, Sanskrit dama a house. r62. Compare 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. Compare Lumber, 3.
And ta'en my fiddle to the gate,...
And fiddled in the timber!
2.
The body, stem, or trunk of a tree.
3.
Figuratively: Material for any structure.
Such dispositions are the very errors of human nature; and yet they are the fittest timber to make politics of.
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.
Many of the timbers were decayed.
5.
Woods or forest; wooden land. [Western United States]
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.
Collocations (11)
Timber beetle (Zoology) , any one of numerous species of beetles the larvae of which bore in timber; as, the silky timber beetle (Lymexylon sericeum).
Timber doodle (Zoology) , the American woodcock. [Local, United States]
Timber grouse (Zoology) , any species of grouse that inhabits woods, as the ruffed grouse and spruce partridge; -- distinguished from prairie grouse.
Timber hitch (Nautical) , 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 (Zoology) , Same as Timber worm, below. — Bacon
Timber tree , a tree suitable for timber.
Timber worm (Zoology) , any larval insect which burrows in timber.
Timber yard , a yard or place where timber is deposited.
Timber , transitive verb
To furnish with timber; -- chiefly used in the past participle.
His bark is stoutly timbered.
Timber , intransitive verb
1.
To light on a tree. [Obsolete]
2.
(Falconry) To make a nest.