Beetle | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Bee'tle (bē'tl), n.

noun

(bē'tl), n. [A-S. bytl, bitl, biotul, mallet, hammer, L. Ger. betel, bötel, M. H. Ger. boszel, A-S. beatam, to beat, Ger. boszen; A-S. bitel, the insect beetle, from bitan, to bite.]

A heavy mallet or wooden hammer, used to drive wedges, beat pavements, &c.
(Zool.) Any insect of the order Coleoptera, characterized by having four wings, the outer pair being stiff cases for covering the others when they are folded up. See INSECT.

The term is sometimes restricted to the largest species, as those of the Scarabæus family. 3. A machine used to produce figured fabrics by

An illustrated beetle with a large oval body, six legs, and long, curved pincers.

Bee'tle, v. t.

verbtransitive

(bē'tl), v. t. To produce ornamental figures on, by the use of the instrument called a beetle.

Bee'tle, v. i.

verbintransitive

(bē'tl), v. i. [Cf. A-S. beotan, beotjan, ge-beotan, gebeotjan, to threaten.] To hang or extend out; to be prominent; to jut. “The cliff that beetles o’er his base.” Shak. Each beetling rampart, and each tower sublime. Wordsworth.