deathwatch

American  

[deth-woch, -wawch] / ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ, -ˌwɔtʃ /

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.

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deathwatch British  

/ ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ /

noun

1. a vigil held beside a dying or dead person

2. 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

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Etymology

Origin of deathwatch

First recorded in 1660–70; death + watch

Example Sentences

An attention-grabbing quote, but it's merely punching up an ancient opinion because the deathwatch for "conventional TV," i.e. cable and broadcast, has been going on for decades.

From Salon • Sep. 3, 2023

A deathwatch beetle is an insidious insect, eating away at furniture or homes, capable of destroying them if left undetected.

From New York Times • Jan. 23, 2019

Ed and Paula had seen reporters camped out on the Sotloffs’ lawn for the deathwatch.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 24, 2015

Fiction's most recent deathwatch began with David Shields' provocative 2010 book "Reality Hunger," in which he diagnosed the traditional novel as "predictable, tired, contrived and essentially purposeless."

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2015

I sat down on the cot that was meant for my father’s wife, the cot where she must have spent many nights on both a vigil and a deathwatch.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat