▪ I. timber, n.1
(ˈtɪmbə(r))
Forms: α. 1– timber; 4–5 -bir, 4–7 -bre, 5 -bur (7 -berr), 3–7 tymber, 4–6 -bre, 5 -byr, -bir(e, 5–6 -bur, (tembre). β. Sc. and north. dial. 4–5 tymyr(e, 5 tymmir, -yr(e, (temir, -yr), 5–9 tymmer, 6 tymer, -ir, (temmer), 8–9 timmer.
[OE. timber = OFris. timber, OS. timbar (Du. dial. timmer), OHG. zimbar (MHG. zimber, G. zimmer room), ON. timbr timber (Sw. timmer, Da. t{obar}mmer), Goth. *timr (cf. timr-jan to build, timr-ja builder, etc.):—OTeut. *tim-ra{supm}:—*tem-ro{supm}:—Indo-Eur. *dem-ro{supm}, f. ablaut series *dem: *dom: *dm, to build: cf. Gr. δέµ-ειν to build, δόµ-ος, L. dom-us house.]
† 1. a. A building, structure, edifice, house. Also fig. Obs. (? only OE.)
| a 750 Cædmon's Gen. 135 Þa seo tid ᵹewat ofer timber [MS. tiber] sceacan middanᵹeardes. c 825 Vesp. Psalter ci. 8 Swe swe spearwa se anga in timbre [unicus in aedificio]. Ibid. cxxviii. 6 Sien swe swe heᵹ timbra [faenum aedificiorum]. a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xiv. [xvii.] (1890) 204 Þa næᵹlas..þe heo mid þæm to þæm timbre [ædificio] ᵹefæstnad wæs. Ibid. iv. iii. (1890) 262 Þæt..þa lifiᵹendan stanas þære cirican of eorðlicum seþlum to þæm heofonlican timbre ᵹebær. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark xiii. 1 ᵹesih hulco stanas & huliᵹ timber [Ags. Gosp. hwylce ᵹetimbrunga, Vulg. quales structuræ]. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 198 Sio [liver] is blodes timber, & blodes hus & fostor. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 3692 Þey logged hem, & tymber teld [Petyt MS. timbred teld = constructed tents (which is prob. the correct reading)]. |
† b. The process of building.
Obs. (only
OE.)
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 178 On .vi. nihtne monan..he is..god circan on to timbrane and eac scipes timber on to anginnanne. |
† 2. Building material generally; material for the construction of houses, ships, etc., or (in extended sense) of any manufactured article; the matter or substance of which anything is built up or composed; matter, material, stuff.
Obs. Cf. belly-timber,
flesh-timber (
flesh n. 13).
In early use including 3; in later use
prob. fig. from it.
| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xvi. [xxii.] (1890) 224 Þætte ne meahten godo beon, þa ðe monna hondum ᵹeworhte wæron of eorðlicum timbre, oðþe of treom, oðþe of stanum. a 1000 Laws Ecgbert, Poenit. in Thorpe Ags. Laws Addit. 16 II. 234 Ne sceal cyrcean timber [L. ligna ecclesiæ] to æniᵹum oðrum weorce. a 1300 Cursor M. 333–4 (Cott.) Þis wright..Fra al oþer, sundri and sere, For þai most oþer timber take, Bot he þis self can timber make. 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Goodness (Arb.) 206 Such disposicions are..the fittest tymber to make great Pollitiques of. 1840 M. F. Shepherd in Life of Adam Clarke viii. 261 There is much sound timber in these sermons. |
3. spec. Wood used for the building of houses, ships, etc., or for the use of the carpenter, joiner, or other artisan; wood in general as a material;
esp. after it has been suitably trimmed and squared into logs, or further adapted to constructive uses.
(A restricted use of sense 2, and in early
quots. often not distinguishable from it.)
| a 1100 Gerefa in Anglia (1886) IX. 261 On wintra erian and in miclum ᵹefyrstum timber cleofan. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 27 And ðe wrihte his timber to keruen after ðare mone. c 1205 Lay. 22929 Timber me lete biwinnen and þat beord bi-ginnen. a 1300 Cursor M. 1724 Now wat sir noe quat wark to do And hent timber þat fel þar-to. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiv. ii. (Tollem. MS.), Ararat is þe hyȝest hill of Armenia;..and ȝit to þis day þe tymber of þe schip is sene in þe mounteyne. 1466 Burgh Rec. Edinb. (1869) I. 23 Mak the ruiffes of guid tymmer and theik thame with sclaitt. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 29 Y⊇ tymmer of y⊇ larche tre..is very..profitable for bildyng. a 1674 Milton Hist. Mosc. i. Wks. 1851 VIII. 472 Thir Boats of Timber without any Iron in them. 1712 W. Rogers Voy. 338 Vessels..chiefly imploy'd in carrying Timber, Salt,..and other Commodities. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 84 The timber of the Beam Tree (Pyrus Aria) is invaluable for axletrees. 1832 Planting 92 in Lib. Usef. Kn., Husb. III, When the wood of a stem or branch of any species of plant attains to the dimensions of 24 inches in circumference, or upwards of eight inches in diameter, it is termed timber. |
b. Wood as a substance, or as the material of small utensils or parts of them. Now
dial.| 1530 Rastell Bk. Purgatory ii. xii, A cup of tymber or metal. a 1631 Drayton Robin Hood & Merry Men 31 Their arrows finely paired, for timber and for feather. 1663 Wood Life 30 Nov. (O.H.S.) I. 503 For setting up a strip of timber on my window, 6d. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 84/2 The Wood, or Timberr, is between the Sap and Heart. 1793 T. Scott Poems 364 (E.D.D.) A breast o' timmer an' a heart o' stane. 1834 Smart Rhymes 135 (ibid.) Her wheels were made o' timmer. |
4. a. Applied to the wood of growing trees capable of being used for structural purposes; hence collectively to the trees themselves:
standing timber, trees, woods. Rarely in
pl. tall timber: see
tall a. 7 e.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iv. vi. §2 æfter siexteᵹum daᵹa þæs þe ðæt timber [L. arbores] acorfen wæs. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 11808 A kanker..the werm..That ffreteth the herte off a tre, And..Doth to tymber gret damage. 1566 in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1584. 209/1 Habere lie wattillis et lie fallin tymmer de silva de Cleue. 1634 Wood New Eng. Prosp. (1865) 16 The Timber of the Countrey growes straight, and tall. 1718 Free-thinker No. 59 ¶11 A naked Ground, blest only with a small Group of Timber. 1787 G. White Selborne viii. (1789) 22 A rough estimate of the value of the timbers..growing at that time in the district of The Holt. 1841 W. Robinson Assam 41 Another large and elegant timber indigenous to the forests of Assam, is the Cedrela Toona. 1880 C. R. Markham Peruv. Bark 158 We continued our journey..through a forest of grand timber. |
b. spec. in
English Law, Trees growing upon land, and forming part of the freehold inheritance: embracing generally the oak, ash, and elm, of the age of twenty years or more; in particular districts, by local custom, including other trees, with various limitations as to age.
As to the legal bearing of this, see
quots. 1766, 1818.
| 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. xviii. §6. 281 Timber also is part of the inheritance. Such are oak, ash, and elm in all places: and in some particular countries, by local custom, where other trees are generally used for building, they are thereupon considered as timber; and to cut down such trees, or top them, or do any other act whereby the timber may decay, is waste. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 131 By the custom of some countries, certain trees, not usually considered as timber, are deemed to be such, being there used for building... And all the Justices at Serjeants' Inn were of opinion that in the county of York birch trees were timber, and belonged to the inheritance; therefore they could not be taken by the tenant for life. 1891 Daily News 19 Jan. 5/4 By the custom of the county of Buckingham beech trees are timber. |
c. int. The warning call of the feller when a tree is about to fall.
| 1912 J. Sandilands Western Canad. Dict. (ed. 2) 47 Timber-r-r! the long-drawn melodious warning call of the sawyers in a lumber camp when a tree is about to fall. 1935 ‘L. Ford’ Burn Forever 56 There was a stentorian shout: ‘Timber!!’ 1968 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 15 Dec. 2/1 The sharp ring of Father's axe echoed in the icy air, and we cried ‘timber’ as our tree fell. |
5. transf. Applied to any object familiar to the speaker, composed wholly or chiefly of wood, as
† a spear-shaft;
† a bowl; a ship; the stocks (
slang); wooden gates and fences (
Hunting slang); a wicket (
Cricket slang); an arrow (
rare);
small timber, lucifer matches (
street slang).
| c 1400 Rowland & O. 455 Theyre Ioynynge was so harde that tyde That theyre timbir in sondire gan ryde. c 1435 Torr. Portugal 2349, I pray, that thou woldist my son lere, Hys Tymber ffor to asay. c 1450 Merlin 117 [They] mette to-geder on the sheldis, so that the horse ne myght not passe ferther till the tymbres were broken. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. iii. ii, Come, turn the timmer to laird Patie's health. 1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. vi. (1809) 90 The leaps large and frequent, and a great deal of timber to get over. 1840 [see screw n.1 11 c]. 1851–4 D. Jerrold Men of Char., Chr. Snub i, The squire..gives me over to the beadle, who claps me here in the timber. 1857 Lawrence Guy Livingstone iii. 17 They..would grind over..the March Gibbon double timber as..undauntedly as over the accommodating Bullingdon hurdles. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus iv. 3 Nor yet a timber o'er the waves alertly flew. 1876 in Bettesworth Walkers of Southgate (1900) 332 Appleby..dislodged Webbe's timbers by his second ball in the first over. c 1879 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 180 Yet Arthur is a Bowman: his three-heeled timber'll hit The bald and bóld blinking gold when áll's dóne. |
b. spec. A wooden leg:
cf. timber-toe in 10; hence
transf. a leg.
slang.| 1807 J. Ruickbie Wayside Cottager 9 (E.D.D.). 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 35 Boys, miss my pegs..and hit my legs, My timbers well can stand your gentle taps. 1862 G. J. Whyte-Melville Ins. Bar (ed. 12) I. 230 [The hounds] have a strong family likeness in the depth of their girth..and the quality of the timber on which they stand. |
6. A single beam or piece of wood forming or capable of forming part of any structure. Also collectively in
pl. a. gen.| c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (Camden) 288 The treasure that was made of the timbers, bells, and leads, and the ornaments of the church. 1623 Gouge Serm. Extent God's Provid. §15 The massy timber [a summer] shivered in two, as suddenly as the other knapped asunder. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §85 To fasten the outside Timbers. 1859 W. S. Coleman Woodlands (1866) 11 The original timbers after this immense lapse of time are still sound internally. 1893 Labour Comm. Gloss., Pair of Timber, two timbers placed against the sides of the tunnels in a mine at acute angles with the bottom. They support not only these sides but also another timber, which upholds the roof. |
b. pl. spec. Naut. The pieces of wood composing the ribs, bends, or frames of a ship's hull: see
frame n. 11 d,
quot. 1769.
Often preceded by a qualifying word, as
cant-,
compass-,
cross-,
filling-,
floor-,
futtock-,
head-,
knee-,
knuckle-,
rising-,
side-,
square-,
stern-,
top-timbers: see these words.
| 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. iv. 158 Her spirkiting and timbers were very rotten. 1782 Cowper Royal George 29 Her timbers yet are sound. 1809 A. Henry Trav. 185 We dragged our barges over the neck of land, but not without straining their timbers. 1857 Colquhoun Comp. Oarsman's Guide 29 All the ribs underneath these [floor-boards] are called floor timbers, the rest simply timbers. 1885 Sir J. C. Mathew in Law Times Rep. LII. 265/1 Her timbers, no doubt, held together, but she was no longer a ship. |
| fig. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. xxxvii, My timbers are now a little crazy, d'ye see; and God knows if I shall keep afloat till such time as I see thee again. 1850 B. Taylor Eldorado xiii. (1862) 132, I, whose timbers were somewhat strained, laboured after him. |
c. Naut. slang, in exclamations, as
my timbers! shiver my timbers! (see
shiver v.).
| 1789 Dibdin Song, Poor Jack ii, My timbers! what lingo he'd coil and belay. |
7. fig. Bodily structure, frame, build. In later use, the ‘stuff’ of which a person is made; personal quality or character; preceded by a qualifying word: suitable quality or character for the specified office, etc.
Cf. material n. 7. Chiefly
U.S.| 1612 Sir G. Paule Life Abp. Whitgift §138. 93 For his small timber, he was of a good quicke strength, straight and well shaped. 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Burn. Pest. ii. ii, The twelve Companies of London cannot match him, timber for timber. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. vi. Wks. 1851 V. 261 Canute..doubting to adventure his body of small Timber, against a man of Iron sides. 1822 Lamb Elia Ser. i. Some old Actors, He was not altogether of that timber out of which cathedral seats and sounding-boards are hewed. 1892 Chicago Tribune 4 Apr. 4/5 Senator Cullom of Illinois is better Presidential timber than was generally supposed. 1906 Munsey's Mag. Jan. 411 His wish to be courteous to men of Cardinal Rampolla's timber. 1914 Emporia Gaz. 13 Jan. 2/1 He is everlastingly..N.G. as gubernatorial timber. 1954 Sat. Even. Post 6 Nov. 64/4 CIA recruits many employees from our colleges and universities through a process beginning even before individual students realize that they are being singled out as possible CIA timber. 1967 R. S. Churchill Winston S. Churchill II. vi. 193 His parliamentary stature had grown and he had proved that he was of Cabinet timber. 1975 Times Lit. Suppl. 13 June 661/2 My contention that he [sc. J. F. Kennedy] was potential Presidential timber. |
8. attrib. or adj. Made or consisting of wood; wooden. (See also 9, 10.)
| 1529 Rastell Pastyme (1811) 291 The said duke, protectour..toke the lorde Hastynges..and..caused his hede to be smytten of upon a tymber log within the Towre. 1535 Coverdale Isa. xxii. 8 Then was sene the sege of the tymbre house. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 323 b, The Spaniardes with theyr ordenaunce beate doune a timber walle. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Cassandra, The treason of the tymber horse at the siege of Troye. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 23 The making of Timber partitions. 1700 R. Sinclair in Leisure Hour (1883) 205/2 Timber cups and dishes. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 92 A timber mallet wrought by the hand was all they had..to break the clods. 1890 Service Notandums viii. 48 The leg will be stiff for mony a day to come, and like a timmer ane for vera thrawnness. |
b. Sc. dial. Unmusical; having no musical ear; dull, ‘wooden’; unimpressionable.
| 1815 Scott Guy M. iii, He was a good deal diverted with the harsh timber tones which issued from him. 1874 Outram Annuity ix. in Mod. Sc. Poets (1881) II. 218 The timmer limmer daurs the knife To settle her annuity. 1875 J. Grant One of the 600 vi. 46, I regretted my own timbre tones. But I must confess to being enchanted while Louisa sang. 1893 Stevenson Catriona vii. 75 You have the finest timber face. 1901 Blackw. Mag. July 58/1 If I were not, so far as music goes, as timber as the table there. |
9. Comb. a. attrib. (often two words, as in 8), ‘of or for timber’, as
timber-ash,
timber-bar,
timber-beam,
timber-broker,
timber-butt (
butt n.3),
timber-claim,
timber colour,
timber-crib (
crib n. 14),
timber-culture,
timber elm,
timber-factor,
timber forest,
timber growth,
timber harvest,
† timber-haw (
haw n.1),
timber-house,
timber jinker (
Austral.) (
jinker2),
timber-land,
timber-log,
timber management,
timber-market,
timber-mell (
mell n.1),
timber-merchant,
timber-mill,
timber-monger,
timber-nail,
timber-oak,
timber-patch,
timber-plank,
timber-post,
timber preservation,
timber production,
timber-raft,
timber-shade,
timber-ship,
timber-sled,
timber-slide,
timber-trade,
timber truck,
timber value,
timber-wain,
timber-wright.
b. obj. and
obj. gen., as
timber-borer,
timber-cutter,
timber-devourer,
timber-feller,
timber-floater,
timber-harvester,
timber-worker;
timber-boring,
timber-carrying,
timber-cutting,
timber-devouring,
timber-eating,
timber-floating,
timber-harvesting,
timber-producing ns. and
adjs. c. instrumental and parasynthetic, as
timber-built,
timber-ceilinged,
timber-covered,
† timber-heeled,
timber-laden,
timber-lined,
timber-propt,
timber-skeletoned,
timber-strewn adjs.; also
timber-like adj.| 1707 *Timber Ash [see timber oak]. |
| 1685 Boyle Effects of Mot. v. 44 In the striking of a *timber-beam at one end, the motion..may become sensible at the other. |
| 1815 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. viii. (1818) I. 235 The most extensive family..of *timber-borers are the capricorn beetles. |
| 1817 Ibid. xxi. (1818) II. 235 A little *timber-boring beetle. |
| 1703 T. S. Art's Improv. 23 An Observation of an Experienced *Timber Broker. |
| 1825–9 Mrs. Sherwood Lady of Manor xii, An old *timber-built cottage. |
| 1608 T. Cocks Diary (1901) 32 Payde..for bringinge home my two *tymber butts. |
| 1903 Ld. R. Gower Rec. & Remin. 226 A handsome *timber-ceiling'd hall. |
| 1857 Lawrence (Kansas) Republican 4 June, *Timber claims..may be purchased on better terms than in any place of equal distance from Lawrence. 1890 L. D'Oyle Notches 124 He took up a ‘homestead’ and a ‘timber-claim’ with the..intention of raising cattle and a family. |
| 1663 Gerbier Counsel (1664) 84 Frames..gilded, the ground a *Timber colour. |
| 1895 Outing (U.S.) XXVII. 44/2 Enclosed between three great peaks—one *timber-covered to its top. |
| 1888 W. D. Lighthall Yng Seigneur 11 A *timber-crib which was going to run a rapid. |
| 1887 Daily News 3 Nov. 5/4 Buying under the homestead and *timber-culture laws. |
| 1775 Romans Florida App. 30 Fires..occasioned by the hunters and *timber-cutters, who burn the woods to clear them of under-wood. |
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxxiv. 430 In the stag-beetle, and some other *timber-devourers. |
| Ibid. xxx. 146 A small *timber-devouring beetle. |
| 1815 Ibid. viii. (1818) I. 237 *Timber-eating beetles. |
| 1731 Gentl. Mag. Nov. 502/2 James Jelly..*Timber-Factor and Wharfinger. |
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad xi. 79 When in hill-environ'd vales the *timber-feller takes A sharp set stomach to his meat. 1922 E. M. Forster Life to Come (1972) 74 There was a tolerable road, made by the timber-fellers. |
| 1854 Hooker Himal. Jrnls. I. xvii. 398 The shelter of *timber-floaters. |
| 1887 C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Afr. 205 The Gambia *timber-floating industry. |
| 1968 Ceiba XIV. 29 (heading) Forecasting *timber growth by the point center extension modification of the Bitterlich system. |
| 1969 U.S. Forest Service Resource Bull. No. pnw30 (title) 1968 Washington *timber harvest. |
| 1965 Canad. Geogr. Jrnl. Sept. 86/2 The..economic arguments of *timber-harvesters. |
| Ibid. 86/1 It may also be that top park administrators..apply the terminology and techniques of *timber harvesting to areas in which the primary use is recreational. |
| 1442, 1457 *Tembre haw, tymbre hawes [see haw n.1]. |
| 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 149 Women's schoes, *tymber heilled, of the best sort. 1535 *Tymbre house [see 8]. 1723 Mandeville Fab. Bees (1725) I. 419 If..Ships should always have fine Weather,..Ships would last as long as Timber-Houses. 1871 Kingsley At Last xii, A roomy timber house, beautifully thatched with palm. |
| 1916 J. B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee i. 1 Along the tracks heavy *timber-jinkers groaned on their way to the Ironbark Sawmill. 1977 Weekly Times (Melbourne) 19 Jan. 57/2 (Advt.), Quality trucks at lowest prices..also semi trailers, semi tippers, low-loaders, timber jinkers, tippers. |
| 1654 Suffolk Deeds (Boston, Mass.) (1883) II. 55 Howses fence or gardens, *Tymber Lands broaken & vnbroaken. 1804 P. Gass Jrnl. 26 Aug. (1807) ii. 31 We..passed some timber land on the south side. 1981 Bull. Yale Univ. School Forestry No. 92. 15 Ownership of timberlands by the forest products industry..grew by almost 10 million acres in the past twenty-five years. |
| 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIV. 191/1 The right to timber and *timber-like trees belongs to the landlord. |
| 1856 W. Whitman Leaves of Grass (ed. 2) xii. 225 You *timber-lined sides! You distant ships. 1897 P. Warung Tales Old Regime 95 The walls of the shaft were..timber-lined. |
| 1529 *Tymber log [see 8]. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. viii. 44 That there is no more zeal in vs than in a timberlogge. 1681 Dryden Spanish Fryar iii. i. 32 What are become of those two Timber-loggs that he us'd to wear for Leggs? |
| 1969 U.S. Forest Service Research Paper No. so 40. 1 (title) 29 years of selection *timber management on the Crossett Experimental Forest. |
| 1477 in Charters, &c. Edinb. (1871) 141 The wod and *tymmer merket. 1981 Bull. Yale Univ. School Forestry No. 92. 39 This model could be implemented empirically on a data set for which information on both the land and timber markets were available. |
| 1721 Ramsay Horace to Virgil 41 Hercules, wi's *timber-mell, Plays rap upo' the yates of hell. |
| 1679–88 Secr. Serv. Money Chas. II & Jas. II (Camden) 206 John Martyr, *timber merchant. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. 11 June, He lived some time as a clerk to a timber-merchant. 1946 A. R. M. Lower Colony to Nation 209 The timber merchants..bought square timber and deals..to ship them to England. |
| 1908 Chambers's Jrnl. Nov. 702/2 Tasmania prides itself on its..giant *timber-mills. |
| 1275 Memoranda, K.R. 2 & 3 Edw. I, 11 b (P.R.O.), Recognicio Iohannis le *Tymbermongere. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Tymber nayle, impago. |
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 106 In the above Scheme, the first Column is the Names of the Fields,..the third the number of *Timber Oaks, the fourth the Timber Ash, the fifth the Timber Elms. |
| 1886 Ebbutt Emigr. Life Kansas 96 We could not..get down to our *timber patch. |
| 1609 Bible (Douay) Gen. vi. 14 Make thee an arke of *timber planke. |
| 1622 Callis Stat. Sewers (1647) 213 Piles and *Timberposts are set in the waters. |
| 1966 Encycl. N.Z. I. 724/1 As building authorities have rightly been unwilling to accept this non-durable sap-timber, a sizable *timber preservation industry has grown up. |
| 1887 C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Afr. 3 The approximate extent of *timber-producing forests. |
| 1968 Wisconsin Agric. Exper. Sta. Research Bull. No. 272. 1 (heading) Mycorrhizae: their role in tree nutrition and *timber production. |
| 1785 Burns Halloween xxiii, It chanc'd the stack he faddom't thrice, Was *timmer-propt for thrawin'. |
| 1818 F. Hall Trav. Canada & U.S. xiii. 118 The frequent sail, or heavy *timber-raft, ‘floating many a rood’. 1853 Sir H. Douglas Milit. Bridges 236 The large timber-rafts which descend the St. Lawrence. |
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §936 Plaine Champaignes..Or else *Timber-Shades, as in Forrests. |
| 1704 Lond. Gaz. No. 4005/2 Her Majesty's Ship the Shoreham, having under her Convoy 4 *Timber Ships. |
| 1852 Mundy Our Antipodes (1857) 198 The snow affords a road..where the *timber-sled, with its ponderous log, runs glibly down to the creek. |
| 1836 Bytown (Ottawa) Gaz. 21 July 2/5 This improvement with many others (amongst the rest a *timber slide at the Chats) the country owes to..George Buchannan. 1884 S. E. Dawson Handbk. Canada 287 The timber-slides, by which the lumber from the upper river passes down..into the navigable water below. |
| 1732 in Calendar of State Papers Colonial Series, Amer. & W. Indies 1732 (1939) XXXIX. 243 Abundance of saw-mills are erecting for the *timber trade. 1855 A. Morris Canada iv. 64 A new branch of the timber trade has been established during the present year. |
| 1859 D. Bunce Travels with Dr. Leichhardt iii. 23 These pipes..afforded excellent substitutes for bridges, wherever it was necessary for a road to be made for the *timber-trucks. 1976 M. Birmingham Heat of Sun vi. 75 The timber trucks—great articulated monsters each carrying thirty-odd tons of timber, usually in the form of three huge logs. |
| 1917 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 9/2 What bearing has the presence, or the increase, of woodpeckers upon the problem of *timber-values? 1981 Bull. Yale Univ. School Forestry No. 92. 33 Some timber values must be foregone to obtain additional nontimber values. |
| 1832 H. Martineau Homes Abroad iv. 59 The creaking *timber-wain. |
| 1848 Buckley Iliad 239 Some pine which *timber-workers have cut down. |
| c 1450 Cov. Myst. xv. 6, I..am a pore *tymbre wryht [MS. wryth], born of the blood of Davyd. |
10. Special combs.:
timber beast N. Amer., a logger;
timber-beetle, any beetle which, in the larval or the perfect state, is destructive to timber;
timber berth Canad., a tract of forested land the bounds of which have been established by the government, which leases or sells the rights to fell and remove timber;
timber-brick, a brick-shaped block of wood, inserted in brickwork;
timber-capricorn, a kind of timber-beetle (
Capricorn 3);
timber carriage = timber-cart;
timber-cart,
spec. a high-wheeled cart for carrying heavy timber, which is slung under the axles;
timber-chain, an iron chain used in hauling timber;
timber cruise N. Amer. = cruise n. 2;
timber-cruiser N. Amer. [
cruiser 3], a timber prospector; hence
timber cruising;
timber-dog, a short wrought iron rod with both ends turned down and sharpened, for driving into and holding together timbers in tunneling or the timbering of trenches;
timber-doodle, (
a)
U.S. local, the American woodcock,
Philohela minor (
Cent. Dict. 1891); (
b)
slang, spirituous liquor;
timber drive N. Amer., an organized floating of loose timber down a waterway; a quantity of timber so floated;
timber due Canad., a tax paid to the government on each tree taken out of a timber berth;
timber-fall, a mass of fallen trees;
timber-frame,
† (
a) timber for use in frames (
frame n. 10); (
b) see
quot. 1877; (
c)
attrib. = timber-framed adj.;
timber-framed a., having a frame of timber, framed in wood;
timber-framing, the construction of buildings having frames of timber;
timber-getter Austral., a lumberman or logger;
timber-grouse,
U.S., any species of grouse frequenting woodlands;
timber-head, (
a)
Naut., the head or end of any timber;
spec. such an end rising above the deck and serving as a bollard: see
kevel n.2,
quot. c 1860; (
b)
slang (
rare)
= blockhead 2;
timber-headed a., wooden-headed, dense or obtuse in intellect;
timber-hitch n., a knot used in attaching a rope to a log or spar for hoisting or towing it: see
quot. 1815; hence
timber-hitch v., trans. to make fast with a timber-hitch;
timberjack N. Amer., a lumberman or logger;
timber jam = log-jam 1;
timber-jumper (
Hunting slang), a horse good at jumping over gates and fences;
timber-leader,
Coal Mining (see
quot.);
timber licence Canad., a licence to cut timber on a timber berth on payment of dues to the government;
timber-limit: (
a)
Canad., see
quot. 1876; (
b) any tract of forested land suitable for lumbering; (
c)
= timberline;
timber-lode, in
Feudal Law, a service by which a tenant was bound to carry wood felled in the forests to the lord's house (
cf. bord-lode);
timber-mare, a kind of wooden horse on which offending soldiers and others were made to ride as a punishment;
timber-pond, a recess in a dock or harbour where timber may be floated;
timber rattler,
rattlesnake, a venomous snake,
Crotalus horridus horridus, found in the northeastern United States and marked with dark bands or blotches;
timber-road, a road laid with timber for wheels to run upon, an early form of railroad;
timber-rot, (
a) rotting of wood caused by various hymenomycetous fungi; (
b)
New England, a hot-house disease of cucumbers (
Funk's Stand. Dict.);
timber-scribe [
scribe n.2]: see
quots.;
timber-sow, a wood-louse or sow-bug,
Oniscus;
† timber-stairs (
slang), the pillory;
† timber-taster, a dockyard official formerly employed in testing the measurement, soundness, and quality of timber;
timber-toe (
slang), a wooden leg; hence
timber-toe,
-toes, a wooden-legged man; so
timber-toed a.;
timber-topper = timber-jumper; so
timber-topping;
timber-tower, a wooden tower on wheels formerly used in sieges;
timber-tug: see
quot. a 1800;
† timber-turner, humorously used for a player at bowls;
timber-wolf,
N. Amer., the grey wolf,
Canis lupus occidentalis, as distinct from the prairie-wolf;
timber-worm, a ‘worm’ or larva injurious to timber. See also
timberman, -tree, etc.
| 1919 Camp Worker 26 Apr. 5/2 A large number of our city folk imagine that a ‘*timber beast’ has just about as much need for brain as a Canadian soldier in Siberia has for refrigeration machinery. 1975 J. Gores Hammett (1976) xiii. 93 They thought he was a timber beast out of Seattle. |
| 1841–52 T. W. Harris Insects injur. Veget. (1862) 58 The first was obtained by beating the limbs of some forest-tree. It may be called Lymexylon sericeum, the silky *timber-beetle. |
| 1837 Times (Halifax, Nova Scotia) 17 Jan. 22/1 The selling of Crown lands by auction—and the disposal of the *timber berths. 1957 Camsell Arrow (Edmonton, Alberta) Christmas 68/3 The mission bought a sawmill and set it up on a timber berth just north of the Sunchild reserve buildings. |
| 1802 Bingley Anim. Biog. (1813) III. 138 The *Timber Capricorn. Both in its perfect and in its larva state..feeds principally on fir timber, which has been felled. |
| 1747 E. Purefoy Let. 12 May in Purefoy Lett. (1931) i. 41 This day I ordered the *Timber Carriage to be set up by Simon Hobcroft the Carpenter. 1901 ‘L. Malet’ Hist. Sir R. Calmady ii. iii. 110 A miller's tented waggon,..a timber-carriage, and a couple of spring-carts. |
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech., Suppl., *Timber Cart... The timber, after the cart is driven over it, is raised to the axle by crank-gearing and tackle. |
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 308 The quickest way of pulling them [shrubs and bushes] up, is to inclose in a *Timber-Chain as many of them as you can, and to clap to them a Team of Horses. |
| 1933 E. Merrick True North 319 The people in Mud Lake remember the lumbermen by..their *timber cruises. 1949 Boston Globe 17 July (Fiction Mag.) 8/1 Hard years in mine and timber cruise had given Flood a certain steadiness and maturity. 1956 T. Raddall Wings of Night (1957) iii. 33 Someone offered me a job on a timber cruise up in the north Ontario bush. |
| 1894 Century Mag. Mar. 671/2 The *timber-cruiser is a hero... The location of a choice tract of timber is a secret to be guarded with his life. 1981 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. LXVII. 5 In 1890 the area was inhabited only by a few transient timber cruisers and mineral prospectors. |
| 1933 Meccano Mag. Mar. 195/1 Another activity confined largely to the Eastern Lines is ‘*timber cruising’, which consists of the surveying and mapping out of various forest areas. 1956 T. Raddall Wings of Night (1957) xviii. 143 Winter was a good time for timber cruising. A pair of snow-shoes would carry you anywhere. |
| 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes I. iii. 141 Mint Julep, Sherry-cobbler, *Timber Doodle, and other rare drinks. 1856 Spirit of Times 25 Oct. 129/1 While we have been dosing timberdoodles with infinitesimal blue pills, they shall have..been doctoring bruins. 1873 Punch 17 May 201/2 Any description of beverage possessing the properties of American ‘timberdoodle’. 1979 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 24 Oct. 41/1 Any hunter who has ever overheated his shotgun barrel trying to down the elusive timberdoodle knows..of the erratic flight of the woodcock. |
| a 1861 T. Winthrop Life in Open Air (1863) 23 The head-driver of a *timber-drive leads a disorderly army. 1920 Blackw. Mag. Nov. 616/1, I caught sight..of a second log, followed by a third and yet others in an apparently endless procession. I had never encountered a timber drive before. 1957 B. Hutchison Canada 101 He had heard only vague rumors of the old timber drives in the days of Peter Emberley. |
| 1883 J. Fraser Shanty Life Backwoods of Canada 87 How easily this could be balanced in the treasury accounts by the smallest additional fraction upon *timber dues. 1936 A. R. M. Lower Settlement & Forest Frontier in Eastern Canada 77 To Crown timber dues was added ‘timber licence’, ‘timber-limit’, or ‘timber-berth’ arrangement. |
| 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 289 We climbed up one hill,..went through our athletic sports over sundry *timber falls, and struck down into the ravine. |
| 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 237, 7s. which indeed is the common price for sawing a good large siz'd *Timber-frame..per Load. 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., Timber-frame, a gang-saw; the name by which it is known in England. 1967 Times Rev. Industry Apr. 32/2 Timber-frame houses are composed of lightweight sections and therefore are easy to erect. |
| 1843 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. VI. 179/2 Along a whole range of lofty *timber-framed roofs. 1904 Essex Rev. XIII. 215 The house is timber-framed in oak, standing on plinth of brick and septaria. |
| 1967 Times Rev. Industry Apr. 32/2 *Timber-framing has completely overcome the postwar ‘pre-fab’ image of industrialized building. |
| 1912 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 248 The professional *timber-getter is a Southern miscreant. 1970 M. Kelly Spinifex vi. 103 The word's Timber Getter, not lumberjack. |
| 1891 Cent. Dict., *Timber-grouse. 1894 Outing (U.S.) XXIV. 305/1 We..had great fun with the timber-grouse and the sage-hens. |
| 1794 Rigging & Seamanship II. 287 The head-rail and *timber-head, on the fore side of the cathead. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast x, We went aft and manned the slip-rope which came through the stern port with a turn round the timber-heads. 1849 H. Melville Redburn 37 You timber-head..take this bucket here, and go up the rigging. |
| 1666 W. Boghurst Loimographia 74 Such *timber-headed fellows that they could make noe accurate observations. |
| 1815 Burney Falconer's Dict. Marine s.v. Hitch, *Timber Hitch..is made by taking the end of a rope round the spar, or timber head, leading it under and over the standing part, and passing several turns round its own part. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 2 What is a timber hitch used for? For bending to a spar, to haul it along, sending it aloft, &c. 1893 F. M. Crawford Childr. King II. xii. 214 He slipped the line under the bags of ballast, and made a timber-hitch with the end, hauling it well taut. |
| 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 87 The standing part is *timber-hitched round the yard. |
| 1916 A. Bridle Sons of Canada 5 He was a *timberjack in the hardwood bush of western Ontario. 1953 D. Cushman Timberjack 127 You boys hired out to be timberjacks. |
| 1888 Lees & Clutterbuck B.C. 1887 186 On one of the huge *timber jams which so often occurred we passed close to a wolverene. 1910 J. London Lost Face 133 Crossing a timber jam on the frozen bed of the Teelee, the sled suffered a wrenching capsize. 1937 Kipling Something of Myself iv. 101 The removal of the key-log in a timber-jam starts the whole pile. |
| 1832 Q. Rev. XLVII. 237 ‘Now for the *timber-jumper,’ cries Osbaldeston, pleased to find himself upon Clasher. 1847 Thackeray Contrib. to Punch Wks. 1902 VI. 498, I never put my leg over such a timber-jumper in my life. |
| 1891 Labour Commission Gloss., *Timber-leader,..a person whose duty is to ensure the sufficiency of props, planks, brattice, and crown trees, supplied to each hewer in northern coal mines. |
| 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 16 Mar. 5/2 It was a wide open invitation to the speculator to buy up large numbers of *timber licences in arrears. 1966 Canad. Forest Industries Nov. 55/1 Amendments made to the Forest Act in 1965 now permit: Application of the cost of timber sales to the timber licence as a whole, or to cutting permits issued pursuant to the licence. |
| 1854 T. C. Keeper Ottawa 56 No *timber limits are without water—for it is by water alone that the timber can reach its market. 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 774/1 The Governments of the different provinces [Canada] grant licences..to cut timber over vast tracts of land, under the name of ‘timber limits’. 1890 Grip (Toronto) 8 Feb. 83/2 A Journal..is..agitated lest, by disputing our timber-limits.., the Ontario Government shall bring the province to direct taxation. 1898 W. T. Jennings Rep. Routes to Yukon 9 The whole valley and slopes to the timber limit are clothed with cotton-wood, spruce and alder trees. 1914 H. Bindloss Intriguers 108 We want to get as far north as the timber limit. 1960 Ottawa Citizen 18 June 38/5 A Blackfoot Indian band in 1892 surrendered a timber limit in Alberta. |
| c 1400 Will. Thorne Chron. an. 1364, Pro schippeshere, *timberlode & bordlode, vel cariare extra waldam per mare. |
| a 1670 Spalding Hist. Troub. Scotl. (1850) I. 290 He causit big wp..ane *tymber meir, quhairvpone runnaget knaves and runaway soldiouris sould ryde. 1755 Johnson, Horse,..a wooden machine which soldiers ride by way of punishment. It is sometimes called a timber-mare. |
| 1840 Evid. Hull Docks Comm. 9 The *timber-pond to which I allude is at this spot. |
| 1936 E. G. Barnard Rider of Cherokee Strip 51 Some called it the *timber rattler or the black diamond rattler. 1974 A. Dillard Pilgrim at Tinker Creek xiii. 223 The only other poisonous snake around here is the timber rattler. |
| 1950 Chicago Tribune 16 Mar. ii. 12/2 With him to the zoo went five *timber rattlesnakes. 1982 J. S. Borthwick Case of Hook-Billed Kites (1983) xlviii. 171 He swept from the timber rattlesnake..to the western diamondback. |
| 1803 Naval Chron. IX. 279 Four low wheels,..to run..upon a rail-way or *timber-road. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Timber-scribe, a metal tool or pointed instrument for marking logs and casks. 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., Timber-scribe, a scoring-tool for timber; a race-knife. |
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §692 Creatures bred of Putrefaction;..as Earth-Wormes, *Timber-Sowes, Snails. |
| c 1750 in Herd Songs (1776) II. 181 Up stairs, down stairs, *Timber stairs fears me. |
| 1803 T. Netherton in Naval Chron. XV. 220 The *timber tasters..have been paid at the same rate..as the labourers. 1806 3rd Report Revising Commission, The several Measurers, Timber Tasters, Converters, and Plug Keepers [etc.], are to be called Single-stationed-men. |
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. T., *Timber toe, a man with a wooden leg. a 1845 Hood Forget-me-nots iv, Why did he plant his timber toe on my toe. |
| a 1814 Sailor's Ret. ii. iii. in New Brit. Theatre II. 343 The old *timber-toed pensioners. |
| 1883 Standard 12 Feb. 2/6 The champion *timber-topper of the day. |
| 1904 Daily Chron. 26 Feb. 9/3 An animal who is to be condemned to the drudgery of *timber-topping. |
| 1614 Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue iii. 111 Here, th' Enginer begins his Ram to rear;..Brings here his Fly-Bridge, there his batt'ring Crow: Besides high *Timber-Towers, on rowling Feet Mov'd and remov'd. |
| a 1800 Pegge Suppl. Grose, *Timber-tug (Kent), the carriage of a waggon for conveying timber, with a long perch, which may be adapted to any length, or shortened. 1977 N. Freeling Gadget iii. 142 Sturdy horses could haul carts, timber-tugs, sleds in winter. |
| 1599 Porter Angry Wom. Abingd. (Percy Soc.) 20 Com Swonds, where be these *timber turners, these trowle-the-bowles, these greenemen, these ―? |
| 1860 Nor' Wester (Red River Settlement) 28 Feb. 4/2 We also saw a large *timber wolf (not a wolf made of wood, but a gentleman who inhabits prairies and wooded country). 1891 Century Dict., Timber-wolf. 1904 Westm. Gaz. 28 Apr. 12/1 Last year the female timber-wolf in the Zoological Gardens produced eight cubs. 1936, 1964 [see grey wolf s.v. grey, gray a. 8 b]. 1980 Beautiful Brit. Columbia Spring 19 In the warehouse, red and silver fox furs hang beside the sleek pelts of lynx, timber wolf and beaver. |
| 1530 Palsgr. 281/1 *Tymbre worme. 1599 T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 23 Before thou wast, were Timber-worms in price? 1658 Rowland tr. Moufet's Theat. Ins. 1083 The Philosopher saith that Kis is a little Creature bred in wood, like Worms bred in Corn; the English call them Timber-worms, because they are seldome in any wood but that which is cut, and prepared for building. 1668 Charleton Onomast. 55 Cossi, Timber-worms. |
Sense 4 c in
Dict. becomes 4 d. Add:
[4.] c. Trees collectively, in their natural state and not considered as building material; an area of woodland or forest.
Occas. fig., denoting a haven of rustic simplicity.
orig. U.S.| 1792 B. Netherland Let. 6 July in B. H. Young Hist. Jessamine County, Kentucky (1898) 49 [He] shot him in the arm and ran off into the timber. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp-Hunters II. ix. 152 A spur of willows running out from the timber, indicated the presence of water. 1903 ‘T. Collins’ Such is Life (1944) 16 He disappeared in the timber and old-man salt-bush. 1912 R. W. Service Rhymes of Rolling Stone (1913) 152 Oh, I want to go back to the timber again—I'm scared of the terrible town. 1957 Times 12 Nov. (Canada Suppl.) p.xvi/1 Northward..the timber attenuates into a sub-Arctic forest (taiga) and finally gives way to the true Arctic tundra. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 131 The..roos..moved off slowly into the trees. Hunter started the engine and..cautiously turned along the edge of the timber. |
▪ II. timber, n.2 (
ˈtɪmbə(r))
Forms: α. 4–6
tymbre, 5, 9
timbre, 6–7
tymber, 6–
timber. β.
Sc. 5
tymmyr,
tymire, 5–6
tymir, 6
tymyr.
[In OF. timbre (1350 in Godef.), med.L. timbrium, timbria (1207 Rouen, in Du Cange, also 1314 Upsala); MLG. timber (13th c.), timmer, LG. timmer; MHG. zimber (13th c.), Ger. zimmer; Norse timbr (app. 13th c. in Vigf.), Sw. timmer, Da. simmer (from Ger.). Supposed to be ultimately a special use of timber n.1, which prob. arose in the fur trade in Low German, whence it spread into other langs. The immediate source of ME. timbre appears to have been French. For the reason of the name cf. quot. 1597, and see tavelin. But some suppose a sense ‘heap, pile’: see Schade, and Falk & Torp; others suspect that it was an eastern word.] A definite quantity of furs, a package containing 40 skins (
i.e. half-skins, 20 pair) of ermine, sable, marten, and the like. (After a numeral usually
timber, less commmonly
timbers.)
| a 1150 Assisa Regis David. R. Scott. in Acta Parl. Scot. I. 667 De custuma tymbriarum. De tymbria uulpium cirogrillorum Martinorum Murelegorum Sabinorum Beueriorum uel similium. De vnaquaque timbria ad exitum. iiij. d. [15th. c. transl., Of a tymmyr of skynnis of toddis quhytredijs mertrikis cattis beueris sable ferrettis or swylk vthyr; of ilk tymmyr at the outpassing iiij d.]. c 1290 Fleta ii. xii. §8 Lunda autem pellium continet triginta duo timbria. 1390–1 Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 92 Pro j furrura de grys..de vj tymbre, et de ij tymbre de meniuer, xij nobles. Ibid. 93 Pro ij furruris de grys,..quolibet de xij tymbre. 1473–4 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 31, iiij tymire of grece to purfell that govne,..the tymire contenand iij dosane iiij bestis. 1480 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 133, xxxij tymbres off ermyns. 1503 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. II. 201 For xij tymir of gray grece to lyne the samyn, ilk tymir contenand xl bestis. 1566 A. Edwards in Hakluyt Voy. (1886) III. 392, I have further received two timbers of Sables. 1577 Harrison England ii. v. (1877) ii. 122 The prince hath fiue yardes of cloth for his gowne and whood..beside fiue timber of the finest mineuer. [margin] A timber conteineth fortie skins. 1597 Skene De Verb. Sign., Timbria Pellium..ane Timmer of skinnes: That is, swa monie as is inclused within twa broddes of Timmer, quhilk commounlie conteinis fourtie skinnes: In the quhilk manner, merchandes vsis to bring hame Martrick, Sable, and vther coastlie skinnes and Furringes. 1707 E. Chamberlayne Pres. St. Eng. iii. ii. 256 Of Furrs, Fitches, Grays, Jennets, Martins, Mincks, Sables, 40 Skins is a Timber; other Skins five Score to the Hundred. 1714 Fr. Bk. Rates 41 Ermine per Timber of 20 Couple. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade s.v., In some skins, however, the timbre counts to 120. 1901 Westm. Gaz. 27 Nov. 8/2 Ten years ago..ermine..cost 28s. to 30s. per timber of forty skins. The price for a timber to-day..is 176s. |
▪ III. timber, v. (
ˈtɪmbə(r))
Forms: see
timber n.1 [OE. timbran and timbrian = OS. timbrian (MDu., Du. timmeren), OHG. zimberen, zimbarôn (MHG. zimber(e)n, Ger. zimmern), ON. timbra (Sw. timbra, Da. tömmre), Goth. and OTeut. timr-jan, f. *tim-r- timber n.1] 1. trans. To build, construct, make (as a house, ship, etc.);
spec. (in later use) to build or construct of wood.
Obs. or
arch.| a 750 Cædmon's Gen. 1692 Weall stænenne up forð timbran. a 900 tr. Bæda's Eccl. Hist. iii. xvii. [xxiii.] (1890) 232 Neowan stowe mynster to timbrenne oð þe cirican. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xvi. 18 Ofer þisne stan ic timbriᵹe mine cyricean. c 1200 Ormin 13368 To timmbrenn himm an haliȝ hus. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2015 Sche chold sone be bischet..In a ful tristy tour timbred for þe nones. a 1400–50 Alexander 2110 (MS. Dubl.) Þar fand he tembret on þe topp & tyldit vp a cyte. 1565–73 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Contabulo, Contabulare murum turribus..to make towers, to tymber plankes euen with the walles. 1857 Sir F. Palgrave Norm. & Eng. II. 128 Here had Guillaume timbered and thatched a rustic habitation. |
b. absol.;
spec. of a bird, to build (
scil. its nest).
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. lviii. 445 On ðæm botle, ðær ðær we timbran willen. a 1100 Gerefa in Anglia (1886) IX. 261 Me mæiᵹ on sumera..tymbrian, wudian, weodian, faldian. a 1300 Cursor M. 8763 (Cott.) Quils he was timberand to þis thing. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 352 Moche merueilled me..who tauȝte hem [birds] on trees to tymbre so heighe. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables lxxii. 71 There was a Bargain struck up betwixt an Eagle and a Fox. The One Took-up in a Thicket of Brushwood, and the Other Timber'd upon a Tree hard by. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), To Timber (in Falconry), to nestle, to make a Nest; as Birds of Prey do. |
† c. with
advb. extension: To build
up.
Obs.| 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. vii. 156 They timbre vp drie stickes together. |
† 2. fig. To construct, frame, effect, do, form, cause, bring about, bring into existence or operation (any action, condition, etc.).
Obs.| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxiii. 215 Ða godan weorc ðe he..ær..timbrede. a 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxxviii[i]. 2 [3] Ofer minum bæce bitere ongunnon þa firenfullan facen timbrian. c 1205 Lay. 6620 Hit wes vmbe fif winter..seoððen he þas seorȝe him seolfen hæfde itimbred. a 1225 Ancr. R. 124 Þeos hond..haueð itimbred me þe bliscen of heouene. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3742 That traytoure..That this tresone has tymbyrde to my trewe lorde. c 1450 Bone Flor. 560 That hath tymberde all my teene. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. v. 14 Heads that were never timber'd for it. |
† 3. To make up or add fuel to (a fire).
Obs.| 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij b, A ffyre Tymbered. 1513 Bk. Kerving in Babees Bk. (1868) 265 Tymbre that fyre. 1530 Palsgr. 758/2, I tymber a fyre, je accoustre, or je mets a poynt. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 85/1 Timber the Fire, is to mend the Fire, make it burn better, by putting more Fuel or Wood or Coles to it. |
4. To furnish with timber. (See also
timbered ppl. a.)
† a. To supply or arm with spears:
cf. timber n.1 5.
Obs.| a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 98 The earle of Angus was weill temmert witht so money sharp speiris and lang. |
b. To put in or apply timber to support the roof of a mine or working, the sides of a shaft or a trench, the roof and sides of a tunnel, etc.
| 1702 Savery Miners Friend 6 The more Shafts or Pits are sunk, the more Wood-work will be necessarily imployed in Timbering them. 1725 T. Thomas in Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 106 The lining of it [the pit shaft] with wood in order to hinder it from falling in, is timbering of it. 1844 Simms Pract. Tunnelling xii. 121 The leaving the lower part of the excavation without being timbered was not general throughout the tunnel. 1872 R. B. Smyth Mining Statist. 62 The new shaft..has been sunk, timbered, and centred to a depth of 260 feet. 1904 Times 28 Jan. 10/4 The gang had to timber up the roof. |
c. To cover or frame with timber or wood.
| 1850 Hawthorne Scarlet L. i. (1883) 67 A wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak. 1904 Westm. Gaz. 26 Aug. 3/1 If you have the floor of the butt timbered or stoned. |
5. intr. Of a tree: To form timber. ?
Obs.| 1610 [implied in timbering vbl. n. and ppl. a.]. |
† 6. trans. timber out, to divide (timber) into beams, planks, etc., suited for building. Also
fig.| 1628 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., To appoynte the tymber to be brought home and to be tymbered out for diuerse vses. 1637 Ibid., Payed for timberinge out of our woode j s. 1662 Hibbert Body Div. i. 69 Many men engage in undertakings, for which their heads were never squared or timbred out. |
▪ IV. timber obs. form of
timbre.