deathwatch beetle

名词 n.
中文释义

英文释义

名词 n.
  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.
    — 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,

词形变化

deathwatch beetles plural death-watch beetle alternative

词源

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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