Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of 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}.]
\Tim"ber\, n. [F. timbre. See {Timbre}.] (Her.) The crest on a coat of arms. [Written also {timbre}.]
\Tim"ber\, v. t. To surmount as a timber does. [Obs.]
\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.
\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.
\Tim"ber\, v. i. 1. To light on a tree. [Obs.] 2. (Falconry) To make a nest.