lumber en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈlʌm.bɚ/ (General-American)
- (US) audio
- lŭmʹbə (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈlʌm.bə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈlʊm.bə/ (Northern-England)
- lŭmʹbər (General-American)
- lo͝omʹbə (Northern-England)
Etymology
Exact origin unknown. The earliest recorded reference for the noun was to heavy, useless objects such as old, discarded furniture. Perhaps from the verb lumber in reference to meaning "awkward to move"; Online Etymological Dictionary thinks this may derive from the same root as lame. Possibly influenced by Lumbar, an obsolete variant of Lombard, the Italian immigrant class known for being pawnbrokers and money-lenders in early England. Compare English lumpish.
Meanings
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(Canada, US, uncountable, usually) Wood sawn into planks or otherwise prepared for sale or use, especially as a building material.
Here they live by fishing on the most plentiful coasts in the world; there they fell trees, by the sides of large rivers, for masts and lumber […].
1782, H. de Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer:4 December 1883, Chester A. Arthur, Third State of the Union Address The resources of Alaska, especially in fur, mines, and lumber, are considerable in extent and capable of large development, while its geographical situation is one of political and commercial importance.;
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(archaic, uncountable, usually) Old furniture or other items that take up room, or are stored away.
On the ſecond day of my impriſonment, I was viſited by the duke of L——, a friend of my lord, who found me ſitting upon a trunk, in a poor little dining-room filled with lumber, and lighted with two bits of tallow-candle, which had been left over night.
1751, [Tobias] Smollett, “The memoirs of a lady of quality”, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume III, London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC, page 170:We made all haste down stairs, and soon threw open the street door, for the reception of as much lumber, of all sorts, as our house would hold, brought into it by several who thought it necessary to move their furniture.
1783, William Cowper, letter, 10 November
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(figuratively, uncountable, usually) Useless or cumbrous material.
The bookful blockhead ignorantly read, / With loads of learned lumber in his head,[…]
1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC:
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(obsolete, uncountable, usually) A pawnbroker's shop, or room for storing articles put in pawn; hence, a pledge, or pawn.
a. 1746, Lady Grisell Baillie Murray, Memoirs of the Lives and Characters of the Right Honourable George Baillie They put all the little plate they had […] in the lumber, which is pawning it, till the ships came.
- (slang, uncountable, usually) A baseball bat.
- (slang, uncountable, usually, vulgar) An erect penis.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| lumbers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
lumberman · bring the lumber · dimensional lumber · lumber yard · lumbersome · lumbermill · lumberjack · lumber room · lumberwood · lumberless · lumber-jacketed · lumbery · lumberly · lumberdom · lumberyard · lumberer · lumber jacket · lumberroom · lumber pie · dimension lumber · Lumberville · Lumberton
Synonyms
Translations (42)
bg дървен материа́л (wood as building material) · mh aļaļ (wood as building material) · nl timmerhout (wood as building material) · pt madeira serrada (wood as building material) · mk др́во (wood as building material) · es maderos aserrados (wood as building material) · de Bauholz (wood as building material) · hu épületfa (wood as building material) · ota كرسته (wood as building material) · ru древеси́на (wood as building material) · fa لاپه (wood as building material) · es madera aserrada (wood as building material) · ru де́рево (wood as building material) · it legname (wood as building material) · ga crainn leagtha (wood as building material) · lt mediena (wood as building material) · fi puutavara (wood as building material) · dsb drjewo (wood as building material) · ca fusta (per a la construcció) (wood as building material) · la tignum (wood as building material) · fr bois de charpente (wood as building material) · ru пиломатериа́лы (wood as building material) · ro cherestea (wood as building material) · fa الوار (wood as building material) · bg дърво́ (wood as building material) · ru лесоматериа́л (wood as building material) · rif tafrewt (wood as building material) · ko 각목 (wood as building material) · ko 제목 (wood as building material) · cs řezivo (wood as building material) · gl madeira serrada (wood as building material) · ja 材木 (wood as building material) · ru деревоматериа́л (wood as building material) · cmn 木料 (wood as building material) · ar خَشَب (wood as building material) · ja 木材 (wood as building material) · tl kalap (wood as building material) · sv virke (wood as building material) · mk др́вена гра́ѓа (wood as building material) · tr kereste (wood as building material) · el ξυλεία (wood as building material) · cmn 木材 (wood as building material)