betel n 1: Asian pepper plant whose dried leaves are chewed with betel nut (seed of the betel palm) by southeast Asians [syn: {betel}, {betel pepper}, {Piper betel}]
Betel \Be"tel\ (b[=e]"t'l), n. [Pg., fr. Tamil ve[.t][.t]ilei, prop. meaning, a mere leaf.] (Bot.) A species of pepper ({Piper betle}), the leaves of which are chewed, with the areca or betel nut and a little shell lime, by the inhabitants of the East Indies. It is a woody climber with ovate many-nerved leaves. [1913 Webster]