Beetle
Beetle (bē"t'l) , noun
[Old English betel, Anglo-Saxon bītl, mallet, hammer, from beátan to beat. See Beat, transitive verb]
1.
A heavy mallet, used to drive wedges, beat pavements, etc.
2.
A machine in which fabrics are subjected to a hammering process while passing over rollers, as in cotton mills; -- called also beetling machine. — Knight
Beetle (bē"t'l) , transitive verb
1.
To beat with a heavy mallet.
2.
To finish by subjecting to a hammering process in a beetle or beetling machine; as, to beetle cotton goods.
Beetle , noun
[Old English bityl, bittle, Anglo-Saxon bītel, from bītan to bite. See Bite, transitive verb]
Any insect of the order Coleoptera, having four wings, the outer pair being stiff cases for covering the others when they are folded up. See Coleoptera.
Collocations (2)
Beetle mite (Zoology) , one of many species of mites, of the family Oribatida, parasitic on beetles.
Black beetle , the common large black cockroach (Blatta orientalis).
Beetle , intransitive verb
[See Beetlebrowed.]
To extend over and beyond the base or support; to overhang; to jut.
To the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles o'er his base into the sea.
Each beetling rampart, and each tower sublime.