Found 2 items, similar to deathwatch.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: deathwatch deathwatch n 1: minute wingless psocopterous insects injurious to books and papers [syn: booklouse, book louse, Liposcelis divinatorius ] 2: bores through wood making a ticking sound popularly thought to presage death [syn: deathwatch beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum ]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Deathwatch Deathwatch \Death"watch`\ (?; 224), n. 1. (Zo["o]l.) (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 Psocid[ae], which makes a similar but fainter sound; -- called also deathtick. [1913 Webster] She is always seeing apparitions and hearing deathwatches. --Addison. [1913 Webster] I did not hear the dog howl, mother, or the deathwatch beat. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster] 2. The guard set over a criminal before his execution. [1913 Webster]