# betel
## English
### Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese bétele, from Malayalam വെറ്റില (veṟṟila), from വെറു (veṟu, “plain, mere”) +‎ ഇല (ila, “leaf”) or Tamil வெற்றிலை (veṟṟilai).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbiːtəl/
* Homophones: beetle, Beatle

### Noun

betel (usually uncountable, plural betels)
* Either of two (parts of) plants often used in combination:
** 1958, R. K. Narayan, The Guide, Penguin, published 1988, page 194:Her face was flushed with the tingling effect of betel leaves.
** An evergreen Indian creeping shrub, Piper betle, whose dried leaves are chewed with betel nut: the betel pepper.
** The betel palm, Areca catechu, and in particular its seed, the areca nut or betel nut.
* A quid (chewing preparation) containing these and other plant materials; paan.
** 1934, George Orwell, chapter 1, in Burmese Days‎:He went to the rail to spit out a scarlet mouthful of betel […]
** 2002, Vātsyāyana, translated by Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar, Kama Sutra, Oxford University Press, 3.3.16, pp. 83-84:Within the range of his powers, he sends her, secretly, […] cosmetics such as red lac, red arsenic, yellow arsenic, red mercury sulphide, and black collyrium; sandalwood paste and saffron; and, in course of time, areca nuts and betel leaves for betel.

#### Derived terms

* betel bag
* betelchewing
* betel leaf
* betel nut
* betel palm
* betel pepper
* betelseller
* betel seller

#### Translations
### See also

* areca
* paan

### Anagrams

* let be

## Dutch
### Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese bétele \ bétel, from Malayalam വെറ്റില (veṟṟila).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbeː.təl/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: be‧tel
* Rhymes: -eːtəl

### Noun

betel f (plural betels)
* betel
** betel vine, Piper betle
    Synonym: betelpeper
** betel palm, Areca catechu
    Synonyms: betelboom, betelpalm

#### Derived terms

* betelblad
* betelboom
* betelnoot
* betelpalm
* betelpeper

## Italian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɛ.tel/
* Rhymes: -ɛtel
* Hyphenation: bè‧tel

### Noun

betel m (invariable)
* betel leaf, Piper betle

### Further reading

* betel in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* betell, beetel

### Etymology

From Old English bȳtel, bīetel (“hammer”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautil (“hammer, mallet”), equivalent to beten +‎ -le.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbeːtəl/

### Noun

betel (plural betels)
* mallet, maul, hammer
* bat, club, cudgel

#### Derived terms

* batildore

#### Descendants

* English: beetle
* ⇒ Yola: balbeedhel

#### References

* “bẹ̄tel, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese bétele, from Malayalam വെറ്റില (veṟṟila).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɛ.tɛl/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛtɛl
* Syllabification: be‧tel

### Noun

betel m inan
* betel, betel pepper (Piper betle)
    Synonyms: pieprz betelowy, pieprz żuwny
* betel (chewing preparation)

#### Derived terms

* betelowy
* pieprz betelowy

### Further reading

* betel in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French bétel.

### Noun

betel m (plural beteli)
* (botany) betel