deathwatch

Deathwatch is a compound noun with two meanings.

The more common one is a vigil, either private or public, that is maintained as someone dies or is about to be executed.

In a related meaning, a deathwatch is a guard that is mounted for someone who is about to die or be executed.

This meaning is sometimes used in extended senses to talk about the anticipation of the death of something other than a living thing, like a business or a project: The company’s board is on deathwatch, waiting for the CEO to resign.

The other meaning of deathwatch is for a kind of beetle that infests wood and that makes a noise that is considered a harbinger of death.