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.]
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Tim"ber, n. [F. timbre. See Timbre.] Her.
The crest on a coat of arms.
[Written also
timbre.]
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Tim"ber, v. t.
To surmount as a timber does.
[Obs.]
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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. tommer, Goth. timrjan to build, timrja a builder, L. domus a house, Gr. house, to build, Skr. dama a house. 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 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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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.
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Tim"ber, v. i.
1.
To light on a tree.
[Obs.]
2. Falconry
To make a nest.
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