Definition of "betel"

betel

/ˈbiːtəl/

noun
usually uncountable, plural betels
1. Either of two plants often used in combination:
  Quotations
  Her face was flushed with the tingling effect of betel leaves.
  1958, R. K. Narayan, The Guide, Penguin, published 1988, page 194
  1. an evergreen Indian creeping shrub, Piper betle, whose dried leaves are chewed with betel nut: the betel pepper
  2. the seed of the betel palm, Areca catechu: the betel nut
2. A quid (chewing preparation) containing these and other plant materials; paan.
  Quotations
  He went to the rail to spit out a scarlet mouthful of betel […]
  1934, George Orwell, chapter 1, in Burmese Days‎
  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.
  2002, Vātsyāyana, Kama Sutra, translated by Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar, Oxford University Press, 3.3.16, pp. 83-84