lumber
English
Etymology
Exact origin unknown. The earliest recorded reference was to heavy, useless objects such as old, discarded furniture. Perhaps from the verb lumber in reference to meaning "awkward to move". Possibly influenced by Lumbar, an obsolete variant of Lombard, the Italian immigrant class known for being pawnbrokers and money-lenders in early England.
Pronunciation
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Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ʌmbə(r)
Noun
lumber (usually uncountable, plural lumbers)
- (Canada, US, uncountable) Wood intended as a building material.
- 1782, H. de Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer
- Here they live by fishing on the most plentiful coasts in the world; there they fell trees, by the sides of large rivers, for masts and lumber;
- 1883, Chester A. Arthur, Third State of the Union Address (4 December 1883).
- The resources of Alaska, especially in fur, mines, and lumber, are considerable in extent and capable of large development, while its geographical situation is one of political and commercial importance.;
- 1782, H. de Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer
- (UK) Useless things that are stored away.
- 1711, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism
- The bookful blockhead ignorantly read, / With loads of learned lumber in his head, […]
- 1711, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism
- (obsolete) A pawnbroker's shop, or room for storing articles put in pawn; hence, a pledge, or pawn.
- Lady Murray
- They put all the little plate they had in the lumber, which is pawning it, till the ships came.
- Lady Murray
- (baseball, slang) A baseball bat.
Synonyms
Translations
wood as building material
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Verb
lumber (third-person singular simple present lumbers, present participle lumbering, simple past and past participle lumbered)
- (intransitive) To move clumsily and heavily; to move slowly.
- 1816, Sir Walter Scott, The Antiquary
- ...he was only apprized of the arrival of the Monkbarns division by the gee-hupping of the postilion, as the post-chaise lumbered up behind him.
- 2002, Russell Allen, "Incantations of the Apprentice", on Symphony X, The Odyssey.
- Through eerie reach of ancient woods / Where lumbering mists arise / I journey for nines moons of the year / To where a land of legend lies
- 1816, Sir Walter Scott, The Antiquary
- (transitive, with with) To load down with things, to fill, to encumber, to impose an unwanted burden on
- They’ve lumbered me with all these suitcases.
- I got lumbered with that boring woman all afternoon.
- 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter XI, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 278:
- The mean utensils, pewter measures, empty cans and casks, with which this room was lumbered, proclaimed it that of the host, who slept, surrounded by his professional implements of hospitality and stock in trade.
- To heap together in disorder.
- Rymer
- stuff lumbered together
- Rymer
- To fill or encumber with lumber.
- to lumber up a room
Related terms
Translations
To move clumsily and heavily.
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To load down with things, to fill.
To encumber, to impose an unwanted burden on.
To heap together in disorder.
To fill or encumber with lumber.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ʌmbə(r)
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- Canadian English
- American English
- British English
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Baseball
- English slang
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- en:Building materials
- en:Gaits