Adjacent Words

Scarab definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SCAR'AB,
SCAR'ABEE, n. [L. scarabaeus, from Gr.]
A beetle; an insect of the genus Scarabaeus, whose wings are cased. [See Beetle.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: scarabaeid beetle considered divine by ancient Egyptians [syn: scarab, scarabaeus, Scarabaeus sacer]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle French scarabee, from Latin scarabaeus Date: 1579 1. any of a family (Scarabaeidae) of stout-bodied beetles (as a dung beetle) with lamellate or fan-shaped antennae 2. a stone or faience beetle used in ancient Egypt as a talisman, ornament, and a symbol of resurrection

Britannica Concise

In Egyptian religion, a symbol of immortality much used in funerary art. It was inspired by the life cycle of the scarab beetle; the dung balls that the beetles consume, lay their eggs in, and use to feed their young represented a cycle of rebirth and were associated with immortality and with the passage of the sun across the heavens. Many scarabs were made of precious metals and were worn as amulets or used as seals. First appearing c.2575-c.2130 BC, they were fashioned in great numbers during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a the sacred dung-beetle of ancient Egypt. b = SCARABAEID. 2 an ancient Egyptian gem cut in the form of a beetle and engraved with symbols on its flat side, used as a signet etc. Etymology: L scarabaeus f. Gk skarabeios

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Scarab Scar"ab, Scarabee Scar"a*bee, n. [L. scarabaeus; cf. F. scarab['e]e.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of lamellicorn beetles of the genus Scarab[ae]us, or family Scarab[ae]id[ae], especially the sacred, or Egyptian, species (Scarab[ae]us sacer, and S. Egyptiorum).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Scarab Scar"ab, Scarabee Scar"a*bee`, n. ] Same as Scarab[ae]us.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Beetle, scarabee.

Moby Thesaurus

amulet, charm, fetish, fylfot, gammadion, good-luck charm, hoodoo, juju, love charm, lucky bean, lucky piece, madstone, mascot, mumbo jumbo, obeah, periapt, philter, phylactery, scarabaeus, scarabee, sudarium, swastika, talisman, veronica, voodoo, whammy