deathwatch beetle en · NOUN
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.
Meanings
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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.
A very deadly enemy to woodwork in churches and other buildings is the creature known as the Death Watch beetle (anobium tessellatum, or rufovillosum).
1895, J. Hautenville Cope, “The death watch beetle”, in The Berks, Bucks & Oxon Archæological Journal, page 85:And chambermaids christen this worm a death-watch: Because like a watch it always cries click; Then woe to those in the house who are sick,
1819, John Mason Good, Olinthus Gregory, Newton Bosworth, Pantologia. A New Cabinet Cyclopedia, page 38:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| death-watch beetle | alternative | lexicographic | |
| deathwatch beetles | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (24)
ca escarabat del rellotge de la mort (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · pl kołatek (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · ja 死番虫 (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · de Totenuhr (Xestobium rufovillosum) · gl couza (Xestobium rufovillosum) · la scarabaeus galeatus pulsator (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · ga cailleach oíche (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · fi rautio (Xestobium rufovillosum) · pl tykotek rudowłos (Xestobium rufovillosum) · mi tokerangi (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · fi puunkaivaja (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · ga ciaróg oíche (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · de gescheckter Nagekäfer (Xestobium rufovillosum) · ru точильщик пёстрый (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · ast coroyu (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · ru книжная вошь (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · de bunter Pochkäfer (Xestobium rufovillosum) · ast poliya (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · mi tākituri (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · gl couza (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · mi tōkere (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · te కొయ్యతొలుచుపురుగు (beetle of the family Anobiidae) · gl trilla (Xestobium rufovillosum) · hu szú (beetle of the family Anobiidae)