timber 
Compass timber, timber, especially oak, bent or curved 
in its growth to the extent of more than five inches in a 
length of twelve feet. It is valuable in ship-building and 
for other uses. Rising timbers. See rising. Shiver 
my timbers. See s/iitwi. Side timber. MBMUMT- 
Kn. Timber claim. See claimi. Timber-culture 
acts acts of the t'nited States Congress for the encou- 
ragement of the growth of forest-trees upon the public 
lands, by providing that an eighty-acre homestead may be 
given to any settler who has cultivated for two years five 
acres planted with trees (or 100 acres for 10 acres of trees). 
The patent was granted at the end of three years, instead 
of five as under the homestead acts. By act of Congress, 
1391, these laws were repealed in regard to future entries, 
but continued, with certain modifications, for the adjust- 
ment of existing claims. To spot timber. See spot. 
II. a. Constructed of timber ; made of wood. 
What wonderful wind-instruments are these old timber 
mansions, and how haunted with the strangest noises . . . 
whenever the gale catches the house with a window open, 
and gets fairly into it ! Hawthorm, Seven Gables, xviii. 
Timber mare, a bar or rail sometimes fitted with legs to 
form a sort of wooden horse : used as an instrument of pun- 
ishment, the offender being compelled to ride it astride. 
This is a mild modern modification of an ancient instru- 
ment of torture of similar name. See Equuleus, 2. 
A wooden machine which soldiers ride by way of pun- 
ishment. It is sometimes called a timber-mare. 
Johnson, Diet, (under horse). 
timber 1 (tim'ber), e. [< ME. timbren, tymbren, 
< AS. timbrian = OS. timbrian, timbron =OFries. 
Umbra, timmera = D. timmcren = MLG. timbe- 
ren, timmeren = OHG. zimbron, MHG. zimbern, 
G. zimmern = Icel. timbra = Sw. timra = Dan. 
tomre = Goth, timrjan, build; from the noun.] 
I.t intrans. To build; make a nest. 
Moche merueilled me what Minister thei hadde, 
And who taugte hem on trees to tymbre so heighe, 
There noither buirn ne beste may her briddes rechen. 
Piers Plou'man (B), xi. 352. 
There was a Bargain struck up betwixt an Eagle and a 
Fox, to be Wonderful Good Neighbours and Friends. The 
One Took Up in a Thicket of Brushwood, and the Other 
Timber & upon a Tree hard by. 
L' 'Estrange, Fables of .flSsop (3d ed., 1669), p. 71. 
II. trans. To furnish with timber. See tim- 
bered. 
timber 2 ! (tim'ber), . [Also timbre, timmer; < 
F. timbre = LG. timmer = MHG. zimber, G. zim- 
mer = Sw. timmer = Dan. simmer (< G.), a bun- 
dle of skins ; origin unknown. It has been con- 
jectured to be a particular use of LG. timmer, 
etc., a room, hence 'a roomful,' a given number, 
40 or 120 according to the animals signified : see 
timber 1 .] A certain number or tale of skins, 
being forty of marten, ermine, sable, and the 
like, and one hundred and twenty of others. 
We presented vnto 
timber of Sables. 
the king of this countreyone 
Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 855. 
timber 3 (tim'ber), n. [Also timbre; < ME. 'tim- 
bre, tymbre, < OF. timbre, a helmet, crest, tim- 
ber, F. also stamp, = Pr. timbre = Sp. timbre = 
Pg. timbre, a crest, helmet; prob. so called as 
being shaped like a kettledrum, < L. tympanum, 
adrum: see tympan, tympanum. Forthechange, 
timbre < tympanum, cf. ordre < ordinem (see or- 
der). Cf . timbre' 2 , timbre^, from the same source.] 
In her., originally, the crest; hence, in modern 
heraldry, the helmet, miter, coronet, etc., when 
placed over the arms in a complete achieve- 
ment. 
timber 3 ! (tim'ber), v. t. [< timber^, n.] To 
surmount and decorate, as a crest does a coat 
of arms. 
A purple Plume timbers his stately Crest. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas'a Weeks, ii., The Magnificence. 
timber-beetle (tim'ber-be"tl), . Any one of 
a large number of different beetles which (or 
whose larvae) injure timber by their perfora- 
tions. They belong to different families, and the term 
has no definite significance. One of the most notorious is 
the silky timber-beetle, Lymexylon sericeum. See timber- 
man, Xylophaga, also pin-borer, shot-borer, and Bostruchi- 
dte. - Spruce timber-beetle. See spruce*. 
timber-brick (tim'ber-brik), M. A piece of 
timber of the size and shape of a brick, inserted 
in brickwork to serve as a means of attaching 
the finishings. 
timber-cart (tim'ber-kart), n. A vehicle for 
transporting heavy timber, it has high wheels, 
and is fitted with crank-gearing and tackle for lifting the 
timber and holding it. 
timberdoodle (tim'ber-do'dl), n. The Ameri- 
can woodcock, Philohela minor. [Local, U. S.I 
timbered 1 (tim'berd), p. a. [< ME. timbred; < 
timber 1 + -ed?.] If. Built; framed; shaped; 
formed; contrived; made. 
Sche chold sone be bi-schet here-selue al one 
In a ful tristy tour timbred for the nones 
& line ther in langour al hire lif-time. 
William of Paler lie (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2015. 
My arrows, 
Too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind, 
Would have reverted to my bow again. 
Shak., Hamlet, iv. 7. 22. 
6340 
That piece of cedar, 
That fine well timbered gallant. 
B. Jonson, Volpone, iv. 2. 
2. Made of or furnished with timber or timbers: 
as, a 'well-timbered house ; well-timbered land. 
About a hundred yards from the Fort on the Bay by the 
Sea there is a low timbered House, where the Governour 
abides all the day time. Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 172. 
3f. Made like timber ; massive, as heavy tim- 
ber. 
His timbered bones all broken rudely rumbled. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. ii. 50. 
From toppe to toe yee mighte her see, 
Timber'd and tall as cedar tree. 
Puttenham, Partheniades, vii. 
timbered 2 , timbred (tim'berd), a. [< timber^ 
+ -ed 2 .] In her., ensigned by a helmet or other 
head-piece set upon it: said of the escutcheon. 
timberer (tim'ber-er), n. Same as timberman. 
timber-frame (tim'ber-fram), . Same as gang- 
saw. E. H. Knight. 
timber-grouse (tim'ber-grous), n. Any grouse 
of wood-loving habits, as the ruffed grouse, the 
pine-grouse, or the spruce-partridge. [U. S.] 
timber-head (tim'ber-hed), n. Naut., the top 
end of a timber, rising above the deck, and 
serving for belaying ropes, etc. : otherwise 
called keeel-head. 
timber-hitch (tim'ber-hich), n. Naut., the end 
of a rope taken round a spar, led under and 
over the standing part, and passed two or three 
turns round its own part, making a jamming 
eye. See hitch. 
timbering (tim'ber-ing), n. Timber-work ; tim- 
bers collectively: as, the timbering of a mine. 
timber-line (tim'ber-lin), . The elevation 
above the sea-level at which timber ceases to 
grow. It differs in different climates. 
timber ling (tim ' ber - ling), n. [< timber 1 + 
-ling 1 .] A small timber-tree. [Local.] 
timber-lode (tim'ber-lod), n. In law, formerly, 
a service by which tenants were to carry tim- 
ber felled from the woods to the lord's house. 
timberman (tim'ber-man), n. ; pi. timbermen 
(-men). 1. In mining, one who attends to pre- 
paring and setting the timbering used for sup- 
porting the levels and shafts in a mine, or for 
any other purpose connected with the under- 
ground work. 
The timberman who sets up the props has usually no 
special tool except his axe, which weighs from 4} to 5J 
pounds ; on one side of the head there is a cutting edge 
which is not quite parallel to the haudle, and on the other 
side a poll which is used for driving up props. 
Cauon, Lectures on Mining (tr. by Le Neve Foster and 
[Galloway), 1. 231. 
2. In cntvm., a European longicorn beetle, Acan- 
thocinus or Astynomug sedilis. 
timber-merchant (tim'ber-mer /i 'chant), . A 
dealer in timber. 
timber-scribe (tim'ber-skrib), . ' A metal tool 
or pointed instrument for marking timber; a 
race-knife. 
timber-SOWt (tirn'ber-sou), n. A sow-bug or 
wood-louse. See Oniscus. Bacon. 
timber-tree (tim'ber-tre), H. A tree suitable 
for timber. Many timber-trees of great value are af- 
forded by the Contferae, as various kinds of pine, spruce, fir, 
cypress, cedar, the redwood, etc. Still more numerous, and 
distributed through many families, are the dicotyledonous 
timber-trees, including numerous oaks, eucalypts, ashes, 
elms, teak, mahogany, greenheart, chestnut* walnut, tulip, 
etc. Among monocotyledons, the palms afford some tim- 
ber, but almost no other family, unless the bamboo-wood 
can be so called. 
timber-wolf (tim'ber-wulf), n. The ordinary 
large gray or brindled wolf of western parts of 
North America, Cam's lupus occidentalis. Though 
by no means confined to wooded regions, this wolf is so 
named in antithesis to prairie-wolf (the coyote). [Western 
timber-work (tim'ber-werk), . Work formed 
of wood. 
timber-worm (tim'ber-werm), n. If. A wood- 
worm or timber-sow ; a sow-bug. 
What, o what is it 
That makes yee, like vile timber-wormes, to weare 
The poasts sustaining you ? 
Danes, Sir T. Overbury, p. 16. (Daviee.) 
2. The larva of any insect injurious to timber. 
See timber-beetle. 
timber-yard (tim'ber-yard), n. A yard or place 
where timber is deposited or sold ; a wood- or 
lumber-yard. 
timbesteret, n. See tumbester. 
timbourine! (tim-bo-reu'), . [Also timburin< : 
cf. tambourine, timbre 2 ."} Atambourine. B.Jon- 
xtni, Sad Shepherd, i. 2. 
timbre 1 !. An old spelling of timber 1 , timber", 
timber'^. 
timbre 2 !, . [< ME. timbre, < OF. timbre, tym- 
bre, a drum, < L. ti/mpannm, a drum : see tym- 
time 
pan, tympanum. Cf. timbrel and timbre^.] A 
tambourine; a timbrel. 
The tymbres up ful sotilly 
They caste. Roin. of the Roue, 1. 772. 
timbre'-'t, *' To play the timbrel. 
Blowinge off bugles and bemes aloft, 
Trymlinge of tabers and tymbring soft. 
Roland, MS. Lansd. 388, f. 381. (HalUwell) 
timbre 3 (tim'ber or tan'br), n. [< F. timbre, 
timbre, a drum : see timbre 1 *.] In acoustics, that 
characteristic quality of sounds produced from 
some particular source, as from an instrument 
or a voice, by which they are distinguished from 
sounds from other sources, as from other instru- 
ments or other voices; quality; tone-color. As an 
essential characteristic of all sounds, timbre is coordinate 
with pitch and force. It is physically dependent on the 
form of the vibrations by which the sound is produced 
a simple vibration producing a simple and comparatively 
characterless sound, and a complex vibration producing a 
sound of decided individuality. Complex vibrations are 
due to the conjunction at once of two or more simple vi- 
brations, so that complex tones are really composed of two 
or more partial tones or harmonics. Not only do instru- 
ments and voices have a peculiar timbre by which they 
may be recognized, but their timbre may be varied consid- 
erably by varying the method of sound-production. 
timbred (tim'berd), a. See timbered. 
timbrel (tim'brel), n. [A dim. of ME. timbre 
(see timbre^), prob. suggested by Sp. tamboril 
(= It. tamburello), dim. of tambor, etc., a tam- 
bor: see ta.mbor. Cf. timbourine, timburine, for 
tambourine.'] Same as tambourine. See also 
tabor 1 . 
And Miriam . . . tookafwn&rrfinherhand; and all the 
women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 
Ex. XT. 20. 
timbrel (tim'brel), v. t. ; pret. and pp. timbrcled, 
timbretted, ppr. timbreling, timbrelling. [< tim- 
brel, n.] To sing to the sound of the timbrel. 
[Bare.] 
In vain with timbrell'd anthems dark 
The sable-stoled sorcerers bear his worshipt ark. 
MUtan, Nativity, 1. 219. 
timbrology (tim-brol'o-ji), n. [< F. timbre, 
postage-stamp, + -ology.] The science or study 
of postage-stamps. Encyc. Diet. 
timbul, n. Same as timbal. 
timburinet, Same as timbourine. 
time 1 (tim), n. [Early mod. E. also tyme; < 
ME. time, tyme,<. AS. tima, time, season, = Icel. 
timi, time, season, = Norw. time, time, an hour, 
= Sw. timme, an hour, = Dan. time, an hour, a 
lesson ; with formative suffix -ma, from the ]/ ti 
seen in tide : see tide 1 , and cf. till 1 . Not con- 
nected with L. tempus, time: see tense 1 .] 1. The 
system of those relations which any event has 
to any other as past, present, or future. This 
relationship is realistically conceived as a sort of self-sub- 
sistent entity, or object of contemplation. It may be con- 
ceived as a stream flowing through the field of the present 
and is often so described: as, the stream of time; the 
course of time, etc. This notion, however, is a confused 
one. According to Leibnitz, time is the confused appre- 
hension of a system of relations; but, looking at the mat- 
ter too much from the mathematical point of view, he 
failed to notice that time is not a general idea, but is con- 
tracted to the individual system of relations of the events 
that actually do happen. According to Kant, time (like 
space) is the form of an intuition ; this apprehension of it 
corrected Leibnitz's oversight, but at the same time lost 
the truth contained in Leibnitz's view. Time is personi- 
fied as an old man, bald-headed but having a forelock, and 
carrying a scythe and an hour-glass. 
Be wyse, ready, and well aduysed, 
For tyme tryeth thy troth. 
Babees Book(E. E. T. S.), p. 84. 
By a rule as plain as the plain bald pate of father Time 
himself. Shak., C. of E., ii. 2. 71. 
We found this Whale-fishing a costly conclusion : we saw 
many and spent much time in chasing them, but could 
not kill any. Capt. John Smith, True Travels, II. 175. 
Time is duration set out by measures. 
Locke, Human Understanding, II. xiv. 17. 
Absolute, true, and mathematical Time is conceived by 
Newton as flowing at a constant rate, unaffected by the 
speed or slowness of the motions of material things. It 
is also called Duration. 
Clerk Maxwell, Matter and Motion, art. xvii. 
2. A part of time considered as distinct from 
other parts; a period; a space of time: as, a 
short time; a long time; too little time was al- 
lowed; hence, season; particular period: as, 
summer-tone ; spring^' me. 
Then aftur with-inne a shorte tyme. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 84. 
About questions therefore concerning days and times 
our manner is not to stand at bay with the Church of God 
demanding wherefore the memory of Paul should be rather 
kept than the memory of Daniel. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 71. 
An illustrious scholar once told me that, in the first lec- 
ture he ever delivered, he spoke but half his allotted time, 
and felt as if he had told all he knew. 
O. W. Holmef, Professor, i. 
