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A kind of balance used in raising and letting down a drawbridge. It consists of timbers joined in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. (b) pl.

A long, slender piece of wood; a tall, slender piece of timber; the stem of a small tree whose branches have been removed; as, specifically: (a) A carriage pole, a wooden bar extending from the front axle of a carriage between the wheel horses, by which the carriage is guided and held back. (b) A flag pole, a pole on w…

Any tree of the genus Populus; also, the timber, which is soft, and capable of many uses.

One of certain upright timbers on the bilge ways, used to support a vessel in launching. Totten.

A grating of iron or of timbers pointed with iron, hung over the gateway of a fortress, to be let down to prevent the entrance of an enemy. "Let the portcullis fall." Sir W. Scott. She . . . the huge portcullis high updrew. Milton.

A piece of timber, metal, or other solid substance, fixed, or to be fixed, firmly in an upright position, especially when intended as a stay or support to something else; a pillar; as, a hitching post; a fence post; the posts of a house. They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper…

To grow; to increase. [Obs.] Black cherry trees prosper even to considerable timber. Evelyn.

A short, upright piece of timber in framing; a short post; an intermediate stud. Oxf. Gloss.

One of the short pieces of timber on which the planks forming the floor of a scaffold are laid, -- one end resting on the ledger of the scaffold, and the other in a hole left in the wall temporarily for the purpose. Oxf. Gloss.

minim or a fourth of semibreve; a crochet. -- Quarter pieces (Naut.), several pieces of timber at the after- part of the quarter gallery, near the taffrail. Totten. -- Quarter point. (Naut.) See Quarter, n., 1 (n). -- Quarter railing, or Quarter rails (Naut.), narrow molded planks reaching from the top of the stern…

Quarter-sawed; -- said of timber, commonly oak.

A collection of logs, boards, pieces of timber, or the like, fastened, together, either for their own collective conveyance on the water, or to serve as a support in conveying other things; a float.

Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See Illust. of Queen-post. [Courtesy] oft is sooner found in lowly sheds, With smoky rafters, than in tapestry halls. Milton.

A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.

face, used in raising sheet metal. -- Raising plate (Carp.), the plate, or longitudinal timber, on which a roof is raised and rests.

c coniferous tree (Sequoia sempervirens) of California, and its light and durable reddish timber. See Sequoia.

To saw again; specifically, to saw a balk, or a timber, which has already been squared, into dimension lumber, as joists, boards, etc.

A long, narrow strip of timber bent and bolted longitudinally to the ribs of a vessel, to hold them in position, and give rigidity to the framework. Rib-band lines, oblique longitudinal sectionss of the hull of a vessel. Knight.

An assemblage or arrangement of ribs, as the timberwork for the support of an arch or coved ceiling, the veins in the leaves of some plants, ridges in the fabric of cloth, or the like.

The timber forming the ridge of a roof, into which the rafters are secured.