timber

English

WOTD – 16 August 2006    

Etymology

Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-Germanic *timrą, from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (“build, house”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm). Cognates include Old High German zimbar (German Zimmer), Old Norse timbr, Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build”), and Latin domus.

Pronunciation

• (UK)
  • (noun): IPA: /ˈtɪmbə/, X-SAMPA: /"tImb@/
  • (interjection): IPA: /ˈtɪːmˌbəː/, X-SAMPA: /"tI:m%b@:/
• (US)
  • (noun): enPR: tĭmʹbər, IPA: /ˈtɪmbɚ/, X-SAMPA: /"tImb@`/
  • (interjection): IPA: /ˈtɪːmˌbɚː/, X-SAMPA: /"tI:m%b@`:/

• Audio (US) (noun)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tim‧ber
• Homophones: timbre (for one US pronunciation of that word)

Noun

Wikipedia timber (plural timbers)

1. (uncountable) Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
2. (UK, uncountable) Wood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction.
3. (countable) 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. Historically also used in the plural, as in "ship's timbers".

Synonyms

• (trees considered as a source of wood): timberland, forest
• (wood that has been cut ready for construction): lumber (US), wood
• (beam used to support a roof): beam, rafter

Translations

trees considered as a source of wood

• Arabic: خشب (ar) (xášab) m
• Armenian: անտառանյութ (hy) (antaṙanyut’), փայտանյութ (hy) (p’aytanyut’)
• Burmese: သစ် (my) (thit)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 木材 (cmn) (mùcái)

• Dutch: kaphout (nl) n, hout (nl) n
• Finnish: puu (fi), puusto (fi)
• French: bois (fr) m
• German: Holz (de) n
• Greek: ξυλεία (el) (ksilía) f
• Icelandic: viður (is) m, timbur (is) n
• Irish: adhmad (ga) m
• Italian: legno (it) m

• Japanese: 木材 (ja) (もくざい, mokuzai), 材木 (ja) (ざいもく, zaimoku)
• Korean: 입목 (ko) (immok), 제목 (ko) (jaemok) (材木 (ko))
• Kurdish: dar (ku) f
• Malayalam: മരം (ml) (maram)
• Norwegian: tømmer (no) n
• Old English: timber (ang) n
• Polish: drzewa (pl) pl
• Russian: лес на корню (ru) (les na kornjú) m, строевой лес (ru) (strojevój les) m, древесина (ru) (drevesína) f
• Swahili: mbao (sw)
• Swedish: trä (sv) n
• Telugu: కలప (te) (kalapa)
• Turkish: kerestelik (tr) orman (tr)

wood that has been cut ready for construction

• Arabic: خشب (ar) (xášab) m
• Armenian: ատաղձ (hy) (ataġj), շինափայտ (hy) (šinap’ayt), փայտանյութ (hy) (p’aytanyut’), փայտեղեն (hy) (p’ayteġen)
• Bulgarian: дърво (bg) (dǎrvó) n, дървен материал (bg) (dǎrven materiál) m
• Burmese: သစ် (my) (thit)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 木料 (cmn) (mùliào), 木材 (cmn) (mùcái)

• Dutch: hout (nl) n, timmerhout (nl) n
• Finnish: puu (fi), puutavara (fi)
• French: bois de charpente (fr) m
• German: Holz (de) n, Bauholz (de) n
• Greek: ξυλεία (el) (ksilía) f
• Hungarian: épületfa (hu)
• Icelandic: viður (is) m, timbur (is) n
• Italian: legname (it) m
• Japanese: 材木 (ja) (ざいもく, zaimoku), 木材 (ja) (もくざい, mokuzai)
• Korean: 재목 (ko) (jaemok) (材木 (ko))

• Kurdish: dar (ku) f
• Luhya: embao
• Malayalam: മരം (ml) (maram)
• Meru: mpao
• Norwegian: trevirke (no) n
• Old English: timber (ang) n
• Polish: drewno (pl) n
• Portuguese: madeira (pt) f
• Russian: пиломатериалы (ru) (pilomateriály) m pl, лесоматериал (ru) (lesomateriál) m, деревоматериал (ru) (derevomateriál) m
• Scottish Gaelic: fiodh (gd) m
• Spanish: madera aserrada (es) f
• Swahili: mbao (sw)
• Swedish: virke (sv) n, timmer (sv) n
• Telugu: కలప (te) (kalapa)
• Turkish: kereste (tr)

beam used to support a roof

• Armenian: գերան (hy) (geran), հեծան (hy) (heçan)
• Bulgarian: греда (bg) (gredá) f
• Catalan: biga (ca) f
• Dutch: dakbalk (nl) m, balk (nl) m
• Finnish: hirsi (fi), kurkihirsi (fi)
• Greek: δοκάρι (el) (δokári) n
• Japanese: 梁 (ja) (はり, hari)

• Korean: 들보 (ko) (deulbo)
• Kurdish: karîte (ku) m
• Norwegian: takbjelke (no) m
• Portuguese: viga (pt) f
• Russian: балка (ru) (bálka) f
• Spanish: viga (es) f, polín (es) m
• Swahili: mbao (sw)

Derived terms

• half-timbered
• shiver me timbers
• timbered
• timberland
• timberline
• timber wolf
• timberyard

Interjection

timber!

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

Translations

warning shout used by loggers

• Dutch: onderuit (nl)!
• Finnish: puu kaatuu (fi)!
• French: gare (fr)!, attention (fr)!
• Hungarian: dől a fa! (hu)
• Icelandic: timbur (is)!

• Portuguese: madeira (pt)!
• Spanish: Fuera Abajo (es)!
• Swahili: mbao (sw)
• Swedish: timmer (sv)!

Verb

timber (third-person singular simple present timbers, present participle timbering, simple past and past participle timbered)

1. (transitive) To fit with timbers.

   timbering a roof

2. (falconry, intransitive) To light or land on a tree.
3. (obsolete) To make a nest.
4. To surmount as a timber does.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Anagrams

• timbre

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *timrą, from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (“build, house”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm). Cognates include Old Saxon timbar, Old High German zimbar (German Zimmer), Old Norse timbr, Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build”), and Latin domus.

Noun

timber n

1. timber
2. a building
3. the act of building