betel

Noun

betel (usually uncountable, plural betels)

1. (usually) Either of two (parts of) plants often used in combination
   • Her face was flushed with the tingling effect of betel leaves.1958, R. K. Narayan, The Guide, Penguin, published 1988, page 194
2. (usually) An evergreen Indian creeping shrub, Piper betle, whose dried leaves are chewed with betel nut: the betel pepper.
3. (usually) The betel palm, Areca catechu, and in particular its seed, the areca nut or betel nut.
4. (usually) A quid (chewing preparation) containing these and other plant materials; paan.
   • In a small Bamboo case, prettily carved and ornamented, the Dyak carries his sirih and lime for betel chewing, and his little long-bladed knife has a Bamboo sheath.1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 126
   • He went to the rail to spit out a scarlet mouthful of betel […]1934, George Orwell, chapter 1, in Burmese Days