DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Death·watch n.
 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.
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