timber meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

timber

noun

UK /ˈtɪmbə/ · US /ˈtɪmbɚ/

Etymology

From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-West Germanic *timr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą (“building; timber”), from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to build; to arrange”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm (“home, house”)). Cognates Cognate with Dutch timmer (“building, construction; chamber, room”), German Zimmer (“room, timber”), Luxembourgish Zëmmer (“room”), Yiddish צימער (tsimer, “room”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tømmer (“timber”), Faroese and Icelandic timbur (“timber, wood”), Norwegian Nynorsk timber, tymbur, tømmer (“timber”), Swedish timmer (“timber”), Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐌱𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timbrjan), 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build, construct; to edify, strengthen”); also Breton danvez (“material, matter; fabric; fortune, wealth”), Cornish devnydh (“inhredient, material, stuff; use”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic damhna (“matter”), Welsh defnydd (“material, stuff; gear, implement, instrument; application; cause, occasion, reason”), Latin domus (“home, house”), Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos, “house; household”), Albanian dhomë (“chamber, room”), Latgalian noms (“house”), Latvian nams (“house”), Lithuanian namas (“house”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian дом (dom, “home, house”), Czech dům (“house”), Polish, Slovak, and Slovene dom (“home, house”), Serbo-Croatian до̑м, dȏm (“home, house”), Ukrainian дім (dim, “home, house; building”), Armenian տուն (tun, “home, house; family, household”), Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬨 (dam, “house”), Sanskrit दम् (dam, “house”), दम (dama, “home”).

7 senses

1Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
2Wood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction.
3A heavy wooden beam, generally a whole log that has been…
4Material for any structure.
5The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.
6A certain quantity of fur skins (as of martens, ermines…
7The stumps.

1

Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.

collect timber
cut down timber

1 more example

Soon, he convinced his uncle to show him how to harvest ash, the local timber that—cut, hauled, sliced, and hand-pounded into thin strips—is typically used.2026 May 23, Hannah Martin, “Fancy Baskets”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 97:

2

US Wood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction.

3

A heavy wooden beam, generally a whole log that has been squared off and used to provide heavy support for something such as a roof.

the timbers of a ship

4

Material for any structure.

5

Engineering, Firearms, Government, Military, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Politics, Tools, War, Weaponry Informal The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.

6

Archaic A certain quantity of fur skins (as of martens, ermines, sables, etc.) packed between boards; in some cases forty skins, in others one hundred and twenty. Also timmer, timbre.

7

Ball games, Cricket, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Slang The stumps.

Synonyms: timberland, forest, lumber, wood, beam, rafter
Derived terms: 48 terms
belly-timber, betimber, Big Timber, bond timber, compass timber, half-timber, half-timbered, hawse timber, horn timber, jack timber, nontimber, poletimber, put some timber on, retimber, sawtimber, shiver me timbers, timber camp, timber circle, timber-clad, timberclad, timber drawer, timbered, timber fly, timber framing, timbergetter, timberhead, timber hitch, timberish, Timber Lake, timberland, timberless, timberlike, timber line, timberline, timberling, timberman, timber merchant, timbermonger, timber nigger, timber rafting, timber rattlesnake, timber-toe, timber wolf, timberwork, timberwright, timbery, timberyard, virgin timber
Hyponyms: crosstree

timber

intj

Etymology

From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-West Germanic *timr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą (“building; timber”), from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to build; to arrange”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm (“home, house”)). Cognates Cognate with Dutch timmer (“building, construction; chamber, room”), German Zimmer (“room, timber”), Luxembourgish Zëmmer (“room”), Yiddish צימער (tsimer, “room”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tømmer (“timber”), Faroese and Icelandic timbur (“timber, wood”), Norwegian Nynorsk timber, tymbur, tømmer (“timber”), Swedish timmer (“timber”), Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐌱𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timbrjan), 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build, construct; to edify, strengthen”); also Breton danvez (“material, matter; fabric; fortune, wealth”), Cornish devnydh (“inhredient, material, stuff; use”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic damhna (“matter”), Welsh defnydd (“material, stuff; gear, implement, instrument; application; cause, occasion, reason”), Latin domus (“home, house”), Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos, “house; household”), Albanian dhomë (“chamber, room”), Latgalian noms (“house”), Latvian nams (“house”), Lithuanian namas (“house”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian дом (dom, “home, house”), Czech dům (“house”), Polish, Slovak, and Slovene dom (“home, house”), Serbo-Croatian до̑м, dȏm (“home, house”), Ukrainian дім (dim, “home, house; building”), Armenian տուն (tun, “home, house; family, household”), Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬨 (dam, “house”), Sanskrit दम् (dam, “house”), दम (dama, “home”).

1

Used by loggers to warn others that a tree being felled is falling.

From the core of the trunk come explosive cracks sounding like rifle-fire. The top of the tree begins swaying drunkenly, as if struggling to keep on its feet. The warning cry "Timber!"1961, Robert S. Close, With Hooves of Brass, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 34:

2

Broadly A cry used when anything is falling over.

The cameras caught the big man crashing to the studio floor. It seemed to take an age for Sticks to hit the deck and as he went down we all chorused "Timberrrr!"1991, Rex Mossop, The Moose That Roared, Sydney: Ironbark Press, page 160:

timber

verb

Etymology

From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-West Germanic *timr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą (“building; timber”), from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to build; to arrange”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm (“home, house”)). Cognates Cognate with Dutch timmer (“building, construction; chamber, room”), German Zimmer (“room, timber”), Luxembourgish Zëmmer (“room”), Yiddish צימער (tsimer, “room”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tømmer (“timber”), Faroese and Icelandic timbur (“timber, wood”), Norwegian Nynorsk timber, tymbur, tømmer (“timber”), Swedish timmer (“timber”), Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐌱𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timbrjan), 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build, construct; to edify, strengthen”); also Breton danvez (“material, matter; fabric; fortune, wealth”), Cornish devnydh (“inhredient, material, stuff; use”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic damhna (“matter”), Welsh defnydd (“material, stuff; gear, implement, instrument; application; cause, occasion, reason”), Latin domus (“home, house”), Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos, “house; household”), Albanian dhomë (“chamber, room”), Latgalian noms (“house”), Latvian nams (“house”), Lithuanian namas (“house”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian дом (dom, “home, house”), Czech dům (“house”), Polish, Slovak, and Slovene dom (“home, house”), Serbo-Croatian до̑м, dȏm (“home, house”), Ukrainian дім (dim, “home, house; building”), Armenian տուն (tun, “home, house; family, household”), Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬨 (dam, “house”), Sanskrit दम् (dam, “house”), दम (dama, “home”).

1

To fit with timbers.

timbering a roof

2

Obsolete To construct, frame, build.

For many heads that undertake [learning], were never squared nor timbred for it.1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, London: Edw. Dod & Nath. Ekins, published 1650, Book I, Chapter 5, p. 14:

3

Falconry, Hobbies, Hunting, Lifestyle To light or land on a tree.

4

Obsolete To make a nest.

5

To surmount as a timber does.

timber

timber

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