Meanings
plural scarabs
- A beetle of the species Scarabaeus sacer, sacred to the ancient Egyptians.
- Any species of beetle belonging to the family Scarabaeidae.
- A symbol, seal, amulet, or gem fashioned to resemble the sacred beetle.
The scarab, which is a very small one, Leo had insisted upon having set in a massive gold ring, such as is generally used for signets, and it was this very ring that I now picked up.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC - slangcomputingThe currency sign ¤.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounscarabaeid beetle considered divine by ancient Egyptians
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinscarabaeus“beetle”
- Middle Frenchscarabée
- Englishscarab
From Middle French scarabée, from Latin scarabaeus (“beetle”). Doublet of scarabaeus, now obsolete.
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic جِعْرَان, جُعَل
- جِعْرَان (jiʕrān)Scarabaeus sacer
- جُعَل (juʕal)Scarabaeus sacer
- جِعْرَان (jiʕrān)Scarabaeidae
- جُعَل (juʕal)Scarabaeidae
Bulgarian скарабей, скарабей
- скарабей (skarabej)Scarabaeus sacer
- скарабей (skarabej)Scarabaeidae
- скарабей (skarabej)symbol
Catalan escarabat piloter, escarabeu
- escarabat piloterScarabaeus sacer
- escarabeusymbol
Chinese Mandarin 金龜子 /金龟子, 聖甲蟲 /圣甲虫
- 金龜子 /金龟子 (jīnguīzǐ)Scarabaeus sacer
- 聖甲蟲 /圣甲虫 (shèngjiǎchóng)Scarabaeus sacer
Czech vruboun
- vrubounScarabaeus sacer
Danish skarabæ, skarabæ
- skarabæScarabaeus sacer
- skarabæScarabaeidae
- skarabæsymbol
Esperanto skarabedoj
- skarabedojScarabaeidae
Finnish pyhä pillerinpyörittäjä, lehtisarvinen
- pyhä pillerinpyörittäjäScarabaeus sacer
- lehtisarvinenScarabaeidae
- skarabeesymbol
French scarabée
- scarabéesymbol
German Skarabäus, Skarabäus
- SkarabäusScarabaeus sacer
- Skarabäussymbol
Greek σκαραβαίος, σκαραβαίος
- σκαραβαίος (skaravaíos)Scarabaeus sacer
- σκαραβαίος (skaravaíos)symbol
Hungarian szkarabeusz
- szkarabeuszsymbol
Irish scarab
- scarabsymbol
Italian scarabeo
- scarabeosymbol
Japanese スカラベ, スカラベ
- スカラベ (sukarabe)Scarabaeus sacer
- スカラベ (sukarabe)Scarabaeidae
- スカラベ (sukarabe)symbol
Polish skarabeusz
- skarabeuszScarabaeus sacer
Portuguese escaravelho, escaravelho
- escaravelhoScarabaeus sacer
- escaravelhoScarabaeidae
Romanian scarabeu, scarabeu
- scarabeuScarabaeus sacer
- scarabeusymbol
Russian скарабе́й, скарабе́й
- скарабе́й (skarabéj)Scarabaeus sacer
- скарабе́й (skarabéj)Scarabaeidae
- скарабе́й (skarabéj)symbol
Spanish escarabajo sagrado, escarabeido
- escarabajo sagradoScarabaeus sacer
- escarabeidoScarabaeidae
- escarabeosymbol
Swedish skarabé, skarabé
- skarabéScarabaeus sacer
- skarabéScarabaeidae
- skarabésymbol
Turkish skarabe
- skarabesymbol
Vietnamese bọ hung, bọ hung
- bọ hungScarabaeus sacer
- bọ hungScarabaeidae
Welsh chwilen yr Aifft, sgarab
- chwilen yr AifftScarabaeus sacer
- sgarabsymbol
Zulu inkuba, inkuba
- inkubaScarabaeus sacer
- inkubaScarabaeidae
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with scarab
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
scarab. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scarab
“scarab.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scarab. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scarab,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scarab.
Source: scarab on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.