timber

See also: Timber

English

WOTD – 16 August 2006

Etymology

From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-Germanic *timrą, from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“build, house”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm). Cognates include Dutch timmer, Old High German zimbar (German Zimmer), Norwegian tømmer, Old Norse timbr, Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build”), Latin domus and Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos).

Pronunciation

• (UK)
  • (noun): IPA^(key): /ˈtɪmbə/
  • (interjection): IPA^(key): /ˈtɪːmˌbəː/
• (US)
  • (noun): enPR: tĭmʹbər, IPA^(key): /ˈtɪmbɚ/
  • (interjection): IPA^(key): /ˈtɪːmˌbɚː/

• Audio (US) (noun)

  (file)

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

Noun

timber (countable and uncountable, plural timbers)

1. (uncountable) Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
2. (Britain, 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".
4. (firearms, informal) The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.
5. (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.
6. (music) A misspelling of timbre, the quality of a musical note or sound or tone, independent of its pitch and volume, that distinguishes different types of sound production.

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

Hyponyms

• (wooden beam used to provide support): crosstree

Translations

trees considered as a source of wood

• Arabic: خَشَب‎ (ar) m (ḵašab)
• Armenian: անտառանյութ (hy) (antaṙanyutʿ), փայտանյութ (hy) (pʿaytanyutʿ)
• Burmese: သစ် (my) (sac)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 木材 (zh) (mùcái)

• Dutch: kaphout (nl) n, hout (nl) n
• Finnish: puu (fi), puusto (fi)
• French: bois (fr) m, arbres (fr) m pl
• German: Holz (de) n
• Greek: ξυλεία (el) f (xyleía)
• 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 (immok), 제목 (ko) (jemok) (材木 (ko))

• Kurdish: dar (ku) f
• Malayalam: മരം (ml) (maraṃ)
• Munsee: ăpánzhuy
• Norwegian: tømmer (no) n
• Old English: timber n
• Polish: drzewa (pl) pl
• Portuguese: madeira (pt) f
• Russian: лес на корню́ m (les na kornjú), строево́й лес m (strojevój les), древеси́на (ru) f (drevesína)
• Serbo-Croatian: drva (sh)
• Swahili: mbao (sw)
• Swedish: trä (sv) n
• Telugu: కలప (te) (kalapa)
• Turkish: kerestelik (tr) orman (tr)
• Welsh: pren (cy) m

wood that has been cut ready for construction

• Arabic: خَشَب‎ (ar) m (ḵašab)
• Armenian: ատաղձ (hy) (atałj), շինափայտ (hy) (šinapʿayt), փայտանյութ (hy) (pʿaytanyutʿ), փայտեղեն (hy) (pʿaytełen)
• Bulgarian: дърво́ (bg) n (dǎrvó), дървен материа́л m (dǎrven materiál)
• Burmese: သစ် (my) (sac)
• Chinese:

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

• Dutch: hout (nl) n, timmerhout (nl) n
• Finnish: puu (fi), puutavara (fi)
• French: bois de charpente m, bois de construction m, bois de menuiserie m
• German: Holz (de) n, Bauholz (de) n
• Greek: ξυλεία (el) f (xyleía)
• 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) (maraṃ)
• Meru: mpao
• Norwegian: trevirke n
• Old English: timber n
• Polish: drewno (pl) n
• Portuguese: madeira (pt) f
• Russian: пиломатериа́лы (ru) m pl (pilomateriály), лесоматериа́л (ru) m (lesomateriál), деревоматериа́л m (derevomateriál)
• Scottish Gaelic: fiodh m
• Serbo-Croatian: drvo (sh)
• Spanish: madera aserrada f
• Swahili: mbao (sw)
• Swedish: virke (sv) n, timmer (sv) n
• Tagalog: baol
• Telugu: కలప (te) (kalapa)
• Turkish: kereste (tr)
• Walloon: mairin (wa) m, bwès d' tcherpinte m
• Welsh: pren (cy) m

beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship

• Armenian: գերան (hy) (geran), հեծան (hy) (hecan)
• Bulgarian: греда́ (bg) f (gredá)
• Catalan: biga (ca) f
• Dutch: dakbalk m, balk (nl) m
• Finnish: hirsi (fi), kurkihirsi (fi)
• French: madrier (fr), poutre (fr); membrure (fr) [ship]
• Greek: δοκάρι (el) n (dokári)
• Irish: ánshraith f (roof)

• Japanese: 梁 (ja) (はり, hari)
• Korean: 들보 (ko) (deulbo)
• Kurdish: karîte (ku) m
• Norwegian: takbjelke m
• Portuguese: viga (pt) f
• Russian: ба́лка (ru) f (bálka)
• Serbo-Croatian: stalak (sh)
• Spanish: viga (es) f, polín m
• Swahili: mbao (sw)

Derived terms

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

• Arabic: خَشَب!‎ (ar) (ḵašab!)
• Dutch: onderuit (nl)!
• Finnish: puu kaatuu!
• French: gare (fr)!, attention (fr)!
• Hungarian: dől a fa!
• Icelandic: timbur (is)!

• Portuguese: madeira (pt)!
• Spanish: fuera abajo!
• 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. (transitive, obsolete) To construct, frame, build.
   • 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, London: Edw. Dod & Nath. Ekins, 1650, Book I, Chapter 5, p. 14,^[1]

     For many heads that undertake [learning], were never squared nor timbred for it.

3. (falconry, intransitive) To light or land on a tree.
4. (obsolete) To make a nest.
5. 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

• betrim, timbre

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

timber n (definite singular timberet, uncountable)

1. form removed with the spelling reform of 1938; superseded by tømmer

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *timrą, from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtimber/

Noun

timber n

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

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Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse timbr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą.

Noun

timber n

1. timber; wood used for building

Declension

Declension of timber (a-stem)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	timber	timbrit	—	—
accusative	timber	timbrit	—	—
dative	timbri, -e	timbrinu, -eno	—	—
genitive	timbers	timbersins	—	—

Descendants

• Swedish: timmer