beetle
noun
[ ˈbiːt(ə)l ]
• an insect of a large order distinguished by having forewings that are typically modified into hard wing cases (elytra), which cover and protect the hindwings and abdomen.
• a dice game in which a picture of a beetle is drawn or assembled.
beetle
verb
• make one's way hurriedly.
• "the tourist beetled off"
Similar:
scurry,
scamper,
scuttle,
bustle,
hurry,
hasten,
rush,
race,
dash,
scoot,
tear,
pelt,
zip,
belt,
Origin:
Old English bitula, bitela ‘biter’, from the base of bītan ‘to bite’.
beetle
noun
• a very heavy mallet, typically with a wooden head, used for ramming, crushing, etc.
• a machine used for heightening the lustre of cloth by pressure from rollers.
beetle
verb
• ram or crush with a beetle.
• "she stood in a shed, beetling grain for the fowl"
• finish (cloth) with a beetle.
Origin:
Old English bētel, of Germanic origin; related to beat.
beetle
verb
• (of a rock or a person's eyebrows) be prominent or overhanging.
• "his eyebrows beetled with irritation"
Similar:
projecting,
protruding,
prominent,
overhanging,
sticking out,
jutting out,
standing out,
bulging,
bulbous,
pendent,
beetle
adjective
• (of a person's eyebrows) shaggy and projecting.
• "thick beetle brows"
Origin:
mid 16th century (as an adjective): back-formation from beetle-browed, first recorded in Middle English. The verb was apparently used as a nonce word by Shakespeare and was later adopted by other writers.
