English

Noun

betel ‎(usually uncountable, plural betels)

1. Either of two plants often used in combination:
   1. an evergreen Indian creeping shrub, Piper betle, whose dried leaves are chewed with betel nut: the betel pepper
   2. the seed of the betel palm, Areca catechu: the betel nut
   • 1958, R. K. Narayan, The Guide, Penguin, 1988, p. 194,

     Her face was flushed with the tingling effect of betel leaves.

2. A quid (chewing preparation) containing these and other plant materials; paan.
   • 1934, George Orwell, Burmese Days, Chapter 1,

     He went to the rail to spit out a scarlet mouthful of betel […]

   • 2002, Vātsyāyana, Kama Sutra, translated by Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar, Oxford University Press, 3.3.16, pp. 83-84,

     Within the range of his powers, he sends her, secretly, […] cosmetics such as red lac, red arsenic, yellow arsenic, red mercury sulphide, and black collyrium; sandalwood paste and saffron; and, in course of time, areca nuts and betel leaves for betel.

Translations

See also

• areca
• paan

Anagrams

• let be

References

1. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary