Meaning and Origin
What does the name Timber mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- A submission from Virginia, U.S. says the name Timber means "Stronghold, foundation, progression, safety" and is of American origin.
- A submission from Florida, U.S. says the name Timber means "Gift of god" and is of English origin.
Etymology: Probably the same word as timber sort of wood; cf. Sw. timber, LG. timmer, MHG. zimber, G. zimmer, F. timbre, LL. timbrium. Cf. Timmer
Etymology: F. timbre. See Timbre
- 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.]
- The body, stem, or trunk of a tree.
- 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.]
- 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.]
- Woods or forest; wooden land.(Western U. S)
- [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.
Etymology: 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
- To light on a tree.(Obs)
- [Falconry] To make a nest.
- A beam made of wood
- A post made of wood
- (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)
- Land that is covered with trees and shrubs
- The wood of trees cut and prepared for use as building material
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”), and Latin domus.
- (uncountable) Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
- (Britain, uncountable) Wood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction.
- (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".
- (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.
- (firearms, informal) The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.
timber was also found in the following language(s): Norwegian Nynorsk, Old English, and Old Swedish