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Noun: deathwatch beetle  'deth,wóch'bee-t(u)l
  1. Bores through wood making a ticking sound popularly thought to presage death
    "The deathwatch beetle's tapping echoed through the old house";
    - deathwatch, Xestobium rufovillosum

Derived forms: deathwatch beetles

Type of: beetle

Part of: Anobiidae, family Anobiidae

Encyclopedia: Deathwatch beetle