deathwatch

[ deth-woch, -wawch ]

noun

1. a vigil beside a dying or dead person.
2. a guard set over a condemned person before execution.
3. Also called deathwatch beetle. any of several beetles of the family Anobiidae that make a ticking sound as they bore through wood: the sound was once believed to be an omen of death.

deathwatch

/ ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ /

noun

1. a vigil held beside a dying or dead person
2. See anobiid
   deathwatch beetle
   deathwatch beetle a beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum, whose woodboring larvae are a serious pest. The adult produces a rapid tapping sound with its head that was once popularly supposed to presage death See also anobiid

Word History and Origins

Origin of deathwatch¹

First recorded in 1660–70; death + watch

Example Sentences

The deathwatch, like conscience, doth make cowards of us all.

From Project Gutenberg

Every pulse-beat is in exact time with the cricket's chant and the tickings of the deathwatch in the wall.

From Project Gutenberg

It sounds to me like the echoing tick, tick of some great beetle; like the sort of noise which a deathwatch makes, you know.

From Project Gutenberg

A chulad was a small native pet, Korvin knew, something like a greatly magnified deathwatch beetle.

From Project Gutenberg

In the wainscot of the room a deathwatch ticked its doleful omen.

From Project Gutenberg