See Also: beetle(encyclopedia)
beetle(6)(dictionary)
beetle(5)(dictionary)
beetle(4)(dictionary)
beetle(3)(dictionary)
beetle(2)(dictionary)
beetle(1)(dictionary)
Beetle(dictionary)
beetle(medicine)
blister beetle(encyclopedia)

beetle(3) (iou)



beetle noun2.
[Old English bitula, bitela, from short base of bitan BITE verb: see -LE1.]
An insect of the order Coleoptera, having the forewings converted to hard, opaque wing-cases closing over the hindwings; in popular use extended to other (esp. black) insects of similar appearance, such as the cockroach. OE.
black beetle, diving beetle, shard-born beetle, skipjack beetle, etc. blind as a beetle short-sighted; devoid of moral etc. sense.
fig. A person who is (esp. intellectually) short-sighted. L16.
A. Tucker A blockhead, yea a numbskull, not to say a beetle.
A dice game with the object of drawing or assembling a figure resembling a beetle. M20.
Comb.: beetle-back a back shaped like the closed wing-cases on the back of a beetle; beetle-backed adjective having a beetle-back; beetle-crusher colloq. a heavy boot or foot; beetle drive a social gathering at which beetle is played.