Added 9 October 2026
beetle
/ˈbiːtəl/ noun
In Latin: coleopterum Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about beetle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.
- A game of chance in which players attempt to complete a drawing of a beetle, different dice rolls allowing them to add the various body parts.
- Alternative letter-case form of Beetle (“car”).
verb
adjective
-
Protruding, jutting, overhanging.
beetle brows
verb
Origin
Middle English bitle, bitel, bityl, bytylle From Middle English bitle, bityl, bytylle, from Old English bitula, bitela, bītel (“beetle”), from Proto-West Germanic *bitilō, *bītil, from Proto-Germanic *bitilô, *bītilaz (“that which tends to bite, biter, beetle”), equivalent to bite + -le. Cognate with Old High German bicco (“beetle”), Danish bille (“beetle”), Icelandic bitil, bitul (“a bite, bit”), Faroese bitil (“small piece, bittock”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)