English Explanatory Dictionary

deathwatch beetle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of various beetles of the family Anobiidae, now usually included in family Ptinidae, especially Xestobium rufovillosum, that bore into wood and make a tapping sound.

Word forms

deathwatch beetle deathwatch beetles death-watch beetle

Etymology

Compound of death + watch + beetle. The sound the beetles make is said to resemble a ticking watch, and is sometimes believed to herald death. Attested (as death watch) from the late 17th century.

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