TIMBER (4)

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. tömmer, Goth. timrjan to build, timrja a builder, L. domus a house, Gr. � house, � to build, Skr. dama a house. √62. Cf. Dome, Domestic.]] 1. 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. 2. The body, stem, or trunk of a tree.
3. 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. 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. 5. Woods or forest; wooden land.
6. 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 (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of beetles the larvæ of which bore in timber; as, the silky timber beetle (Lymexylon sericeum). — Timber doodle (Zoöl.), the American woodcock. — Timber grouse (Zoöl.), 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. (Zoöl.) Same as Timber worm, below. Bacon. — Timber tree, a tree suitable for timber. — Timber worm (Zoöl.), any larval insect which burrows in timber. — Timber yard, a yard or place where timber is deposited.