beetle 3. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

beetle³

SYLLABICATION:	bee·tle
PRONUNCIATION:	btl
NOUN:	1. A heavy mallet with a large wooden head. 2. A small wooden household mallet. 3. A machine with revolving wooden hammers that gives fabrics a lustrous sheen.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English betel, from Old English btl. See bhau- in Appendix I.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.