scarab

noun

1. any scarabaeid beetle, especially Scarabaeus sacer, regarded as sacred by the ancient Egyptians.
2. a representation or image of a beetle, much used among the ancient Egyptians as a symbol, seal, amulet, or the like.
3. a gem cut to resemble a beetle.

noun

1. any scarabaeid beetle, esp Scarabaeus sacer (sacred scarab), regarded by the ancient Egyptians as divine
2. the scarab as represented on amulets, etc, of ancient Egypt, or in hieroglyphics as a symbol of the solar deity

n.“black dung beetle,” held sacred by the ancient Egyptians, 1570s, from Middle French scarabeé, from Latin scarabaeus, name of a type of beetle, from Greek karabos “beetle, crayfish,” a foreign word, according to Klein probably Macedonian (the suffix -bos is non-Greek). Related: Scarabaean. In ancient use, also a gem cut in a shape like a scarab beetle and with an inscription on the underside.