Wiktionary

beetle

See also:Beetle

English

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A beetle.

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishbitle,bityl,bytylle,fromOld Englishbitula,bitela,bītel(“beetle”),fromProto-West Germanic*bitilō,*bītil,fromProto-Germanic*bitilô,*bītilaz(“that which tends to bite, biter, beetle”),equivalent tobite+‎-le.Cognate withOld High Germanbicco(“beetle”),Danishbille(“beetle”),Icelandicbitil,bitul(“a bite, bit”),Faroesebitil(“small piece, bittock”).

Alternative forms

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Noun

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beetle(pluralbeetles)

  2. Any of numerous species ofinsectin the orderColeopteracharacterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.
  3. (uncountable)Agame of chancein which players attempt to complete a drawing of abeetle,differentdicerollsallowing them to add the various body parts.
    • 1944,Queen's Nurses' Magazine,volumes33-35,page12:
      Guessing competitions were tackled with much enthusiasm, followed by abeetledrive, and judging by the laughter, this was popular with all.
  4. Alternativeletter-caseform ofBeetle(“car”)
Synonyms
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  • (insect):bug(U.S. colloquial)
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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beetle(third-person singular simple presentbeetles,present participlebeetling,simple past and past participlebeetled)

  1. To move (away) quickly, toscurryaway.
    Hebeetledoff on his vacation.
    • 1982,A Woman of No Importance(TV programme)
      Ibeetledacross to our table, but no Pauline, no Mr Cresswell, no Mr Rudyard.
    • 1983,Dorothy L. Sayers,Gaudy Night‎[1],Mountaineers Books,→ISBN,page144:
      “[…]But he seems to havebeetledoff somewhere as usual.[…]”
    • 2003,J. K. Rowling,“The Department of Mysteries”, inHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,→ISBN,page766:
      In the falling darkness Harry saw small collections of lights as they passed over more villages, then a winding road on which a single car wasbeetlingits way home through the hills.…
    • 2005,James Doss,The Witch's Tongue,→ISBN,page178:
      Her eyes still closed, his aunt smiled cruelly. “I know what you are dying to say, Bertie. Go ahead—take the cheap shot. I’ll squash you like the nasty little bug you are.” ¶ Thus chastened, the little manbeetledaway.

See also

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Etymology 2

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FromMiddle Englishbitel-brouwed(“beetle-browed”).Possibly afterbeetle,from the fact that some beetles have bushy antennae.

Adjective

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beetle(comparativemorebeetle,superlativemostbeetle)

  1. Protruding, jutting, overhanging.
    beetlebrows

Verb

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beetle(third-person singular simple presentbeetles,present participlebeetling,simple past and past participlebeetled)

  1. Toloomover; toextendorjut.
    The heavy chimneybeetledover the thatched roof.
    • c.1599–1602(date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”,inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard,andEd[ward]Blount,published1623,→OCLC,[Act I, scene iv]:
      To the dreadful summit of the cliff / Thatbeetleso'er his base into the sea.
    • 1822,William Wordsworth,In a Carriage, upon the Banks of the Rhin:
      Eachbeetlingrampart, and each tower sublime.
    • 1858January-March, Dean of Pimlico, “A Story for the New Year”, inDublin University Magazinereprinted in Littell'sLiving Age‎[2],volume 56 (volume 20 of the second series), Littell, Son & Company, page63:
      I was indeed gently affected, and shared his fears, remembering well the bulging walls of the old house, and the toppling mass of heavy chimney work whichbeetledover the roof, beneath which these poor doves had made their nest.
    • 1941,Chapman Miske,The Thing in the Moonlight:
      Impelled by some obscure quest, I ascended a rift or cleft in thisbeetlingprecipice, noting as I did so the black mouths of many fearsome burrows extending from both walls into the depths of the stony plateau.

Etymology 3

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FromMiddle Englishbetel,fromOld Englishbȳtel,bīetel(“hammer”),fromProto-West Germanic*bautil(“hammer, mallet”),equivalent tobeat+‎-le.Cognate withLow GermanBötel(“mallet”).

Noun

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beetle(pluralbeetles)

  1. A type ofmalletwith a large wooden head, used to drive wedges, beat pavements, etc.
  2. Amachinein whichfabricsare subjected to ahammeringprocess while passing overrollers,as incottonmills;a beetling machine.[1]
Translations
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Verb

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beetle(third-person singular simple presentbeetles,present participlebeetling,simple past and past participlebeetled)

  1. To beat with a heavy mallet.
  2. To finish by subjecting to a hammering process in a beetle or beetling machine.
    tobeetlecotton goods

References

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  1. ^Edward H[enry] Knight(1877) “Beetle”, inKnight’s American Mechanical Dictionary.[…],volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.:Hurd and Houghton[…],→OCLC.
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