Timber — Defs

01 n. A certain quantity of fur skins, as of martens, ermines, sables, etc., packed between boards; being in some cases forty skins, in others on…

1.
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.(Com.) Also: timmer

02 n. The crest on a coat of arms.

03 v. t. To surmount as a timber does.

04 n. That sort of wood which is proper for buildings or for tools, utensils, furniture, carriages, fences, ships, and the like; -- usually said …

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. See: Lumber
“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.
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.(Shipbuilding)

Phrases & compounds

Timber and room — Same as Room and space. See under Room.

Timber beetle — any one of numerous species of beetles the larvae of which bore in timber; as, the silky timber beetle (Lymexylon sericeum).

Timber doodle — the American woodcock.

Timber grouse — any species of grouse that inhabits woods, as the ruffed grouse and spruce partridge; -- distinguished from prairie grouse.

Timber hitch — 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.

Timber scribe — a metal tool or pointed instrument for marking timber.

Timber sow — Same as Timber worm, below.

Timber tree — a tree suitable for timber.

Timber worm — any larval insect which burrows in timber.

Timber yard — a yard or place where timber is deposited.

05 v. t. To furnish with timber; -- chiefly used in the past participle.

imp. & p. p. Timbered; p. pr. & vb. n. Timbering

1.
To furnish with timber; -- chiefly used in the past participle.
“His bark is stoutly timbered.” — Shak.

06 v. i. To light on a tree.