from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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And ta'en my fiddle to the gate, . . .
And fiddled in the timber! --Tennyson.
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2. The body, stem, or trunk of a tree.
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3. Fig.: Material for any structure.
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Such dispositions are the very errors of human
nature; and yet they are the fittest timber to make
politics of. --Bacon.
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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.
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So they prepared timber . . . to build the house.
--1 Kings v.
18.
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Many of the timbers were decayed. --W. Coxe.
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5. Woods or forest; wooden land. [Western U. S.]
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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.
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{Timber and room}. (Shipbuilding) Same as {Room and space}.
See under {Room}.
{Timber beetle} (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
beetles the larvae of which bore in timber; as, the silky
timber beetle ({Lymexylon sericeum}).
{Timber doodle} (Zool.), the American woodcock. [Local, U.
S.]
{Timber grouse} (Zool.), 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}. (Zool.) Same as {Timber worm}, below. --Bacon.
{Timber tree}, a tree suitable for timber.
{Timber worm} (Zool.), any larval insect which burrows in
timber.
{Timber yard}, a yard or place where timber is deposited.
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