Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Deathwatch
Death′watchˊ
(?; 224)
, Noun.
1.
(Zool.)
(a)
A small beetle (
Anobium tessellatum
and other allied species). By forcibly striking its head against woodwork it makes a ticking sound, which is a call of the sexes to each other, but has been imagined by superstitious people to presage death. (b)
A small wingless insect, of the family
Psocidæ
, which makes a similar but fainter sound; – called also deathtick
. She is always seeing apparitions and hearing
deathwatches
. Addison.
I did not hear the dog howl, mother, or the
deathwatch
beat. Tennyson.
2.
The guard set over a criminal before his execution.
Definition 2024
deathwatch
deathwatch
English
A deathwatch beetle.
Noun
deathwatch (plural deathwatches)
- A vigil beside a dying person
- One who guards a condemned person before execution.
- A deathwatch beetle.
Translations
a vigil beside a dying person
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one who guards a condemned person before execution
a deathwatch beetle
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