death·watch
(dĕth′wŏch′)n.
1. A vigil kept beside a dying or dead person.
2. One who guards a condemned person before execution.
3. A deathwatch beetle.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
deathwatch
(ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ)n
1. a vigil held beside a dying or dead person
2. (Animals) deathwatch beetle a beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum, whose woodboring larvae are a serious pest. The adult produces a rapid tapping sound with its head that was once popularly supposed to presage death. See also anobiid
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
death•watch
(ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ, -ˌwɔtʃ)n.
1. a vigil beside a dying or dead person.
2. a guard set over a person before execution.
3. Also called death′watch bee`tle. any of several beetles of the family Anobiidae that make a ticking sound as they bore through wood: the sound was once believed to be an omen of death.
[1660–70]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  deathwatch - minute wingless psocopterous insects injurious to books and paperspsocopterous insect - small soft-bodied insect with chewing mouthparts and either no wings or two pairs genus Liposcelis, Liposcelis - a genus of Psocidae common booklouse, Trogium pulsatorium - a variety of booklouse |
| 2. |  deathwatch - bores through wood making a ticking sound popularly thought to presage deathbeetle - insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings Anobiidae, family Anobiidae - deathwatch beetles |
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