Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Beetle?

\Bee"tle\ (b[=e]"t'l), n. [OE. betel, AS. b[=i]tl, b?tl, mallet, hammer, fr. be['a]tan to beat. See {Beat}, v. t.] 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.
\Bee"tle\ (b[=e]"t'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Beetled} (-t'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Beetling}.] 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.
\Bee"tle\, n. [OE. bityl, bittle, AS. b[imac]tel, fr. b[imac]tan to bite. See {Bite}, v. t.] 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}. {Beetle mite} (Zo["o]l.), one of many species of mites, of the family {Oribatid[ae]}, parasitic on beetles. {Black beetle}, the common large black cockroach ({Blatta orientalis}).
\Bee"tle\, v. i. [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. --Shak. Each beetling rampart, and each tower sublime. --Wordsworth.