GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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1.       
   Deathwatch , n.
   (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 Psocidæ, which makes a similar but fainter sound; -- called also deathtick.
   1913 Webster
   She is always seeing apparitions and hearing deathwatches.
   Addison.
   
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   I did not hear the dog howl, mother, or the deathwatch beat.
   Tennyson.
   
   1913 Webster
   The guard set over a criminal before his execution.
   1913 Webster