From Old English 'bitela' (the biter), from 'bītan' (to bite) — named for its powerful mandibles, kin to 'bite,' 'bit,' and 'bitter.'
An insect of the order Coleoptera, distinguished by having forewings modified into hard wing-cases (elytra) that cover and protect the membranous hindwings.
From Old English 'bitela' (beetle, literally 'the biter'), from 'bītan' (to bite), from Proto-Germanic *bitulaz, from PIE *bheid- (to split, to bite). The beetle was named for its prominent biting mandibles. This is a characteristically Germanic naming strategy — identifying an insect by its most salient behavior. The word is thus a cousin of 'bite,' 'bit,' and
J.B.S. Haldane reportedly quipped that God has 'an inordinate fondness for beetles,' since with roughly 400,000 described species, beetles comprise about 25% of all known animal species — yet English named them simply 'the biters.'