(Zool.)
(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 Psocidae, which makes a similar but fainter sound; called also deathtick. "She is always seeing apparitions and hearing deathwatches." "I did not hear the dog howl, mother, or the deathwatch beat."
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