deathwatch
Noun
Meaning
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.
A small wingless insect, of the family Psocidae, which makes a similar but fainter sound; -- called also deathtick.
The guard set over a criminal before his execution.
Source: Webster's dictionarySynonyms
booklouse
deathwatch beetle
book louse
Liposcelis divinatorius
xestobium rufovillosum
funeral
borer
controlled
watch
burial
wake
beetle
agony
vigil
last rites
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Antonyms
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Examples
The last day of the deathwatch dawns gray and melancholy.
By Saturday, it is beginning to seem like a deathwatch on the Charles.