/deth"woch', -wawch'/ , n.
1. a vigil beside a dying or dead person.
2. a guard set over a condemned person before execution.
3. Also called deathwatch beetle . any of several beetles of the family Anobiidae that make a ticking sound as they bore through wood: the sound was once believed to be an omen of death.
[ 1660-70; DEATH + WATCH ]