O.E.
timber "building, structure," later "building material, trees suitable for building," and "wood in general," from P.Gmc.
*temran (cf. O.Fris.
timber "wood, building," O.H.G.
zimbar "timber, wooden dwelling, room," O.N.
timbr "timber," Ger.
Zimmer "room"), from PIE
*demrom-, from base
*dem-/*dom- "build" (source of Gk.
domos, L.
domus; see
domestic). The O.E. verb
timbran, timbrian was the chief word for "to build" (cf. Du.
timmeren, Ger.
zimmern). As a call of warning when a cut tree is about to fall, it is attested from 1912 in Canadian Eng.
Timbers in the nautical slang sense (see
shiver (n.)) is from the specialized meaning "pieces of wood composing the frames of a ship's hull" (1748).