Beetling
/ˈbiːt.lɪŋ/noun
Projecting or overhanging prominently, or moving and working like a beetle.
Did you know?The insect word beetle comes from Old English *bitula*, meaning “little biter,” from the same ancient Germanic family as bite and bitter.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bheid-
“To split, cleave, or strike; a proposed ancestral root behind several Germanic biting words.”
Proto-Germanic
Germanic
*bitaną
“To bite or cut with the teeth.”
Old English
Old English
bitula
“A beetle, literally a small or little biter.”
Middle English
English
betylle / bitel
“Beetle, the hard-shelled biting insect.”
16th–17th Century
English
beetle
“To jut or project outward, likely influenced by the appearance of a beetle’s brow or body.”
Modern English
English
beetling
“Projecting threateningly overhead; also the present participle of beetle, meaning to move or work like a beetle.”