beetle

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbiːtəl/ (General American) IPA(key): [ˈbiɾəɫ] Rhymes: -iːtəl Homophone: Beatle === Etymology 1 === From Middle English bitle, bityl, bytylle, from Old English bitula, bitela, bītel (“beetle”), from Proto-West Germanic *bitilō, *bītil, from Proto-Germanic *bitilô, *bītilaz (“that which tends to bite, biter, beetle”), equivalent to bite +‎ -le. Cognate with Old High German bicco (“beetle”), Danish bille (“beetle”), Icelandic bitil, bitul (“a bite, bit”), Faroese bitil (“small piece, bittock”). ==== Alternative forms ==== bittle, betel, bittil (all obsolete) ==== Noun ==== beetle (plural beetles) Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest. (uncountable) A game of chance in which players attempt to complete a drawing of a beetle, different dice rolls allowing them to add the various body parts. Alternative letter-case form of Beetle (“car”). For quotations using this term, see Citations:beetle. ===== Synonyms ===== (insect): bug (U.S. colloquial) ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== beetle (third-person singular simple present beetles, present participle beetling, simple past and past participle beetled) To move (away) quickly, to scurry away. 1982, A Woman of No Importance (TV programme) I beetled across to our table, but no Pauline, no Mr Cresswell, no Mr Rudyard. ==== See also ==== bug chafer firefly ladybird scarab === Etymology 2 === From Middle English bitel-brouwed (“beetle-browed”). Possibly after beetle, from the fact that some beetles have bushy antennae. ==== Adjective ==== beetle (comparative more beetle, superlative most beetle) Protruding, jutting, overhanging. ==== Verb ==== beetle (third-person singular simple present beetles, present participle beetling, simple past and past participle beetled) (ambitransitive) To loom over; to extend or jut (above). === Etymology 3 === From Middle English betel, from Old English bȳtel, bīetel (“hammer”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautil (“hammer, mallet”), equivalent to beat +‎ -le. Cognate with Low German Bötel (“mallet”). ==== Noun ==== beetle (plural beetles) A type of mallet with a large wooden head, used to drive wedges, beat pavements, etc. A machine in which fabrics are subjected to a hammering process while passing over rollers, as in cotton mills; a beetling machine. ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== beetle (third-person singular simple present beetles, present participle beetling, simple past and past participle beetled) To beat with a heavy mallet. To finish by subjecting to a hammering process in a beetle or beetling machine. === Etymology 4 === Borrowed from Portuguese bétele, from Malayalam വെറ്റില (veṟṟila) or Tamil வெற்றிலை (veṟṟilai). ==== Noun ==== beetle (plural beetles) Archaic spelling of betel. === References ===