deathwatch beetle
nounEtymology
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.
Definitions
Any of various beetles of the family Anobiidae, now usually included in family Ptinidae,…
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.
- 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,
- A very deadly enemy to woodwork in churches and other buildings is the creature known as the Death Watch beetle (anobium tessellatum, or rufovillosum).
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for deathwatch beetle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA