seta

American  

[see-tuh] / ˈsi tə /

noun

Biology.

setae plural

1. a stiff hair; bristle or bristlelike part.

---

seta British  

/ sɪˈteɪʃəs, ˈsiːtə /

noun

1. (in invertebrates and some plants) any bristle or bristle-like appendage

2. (in mosses) the stalk of the sporophyte that bears the capsule

---

seta Scientific  

/ sē′tə /

setae plural

1. A stiff hair, bristle, or bristlelike process or part on an organism. Setae on the bodies of spiders are used as sensory organs, while setae on the bodies of many polychaete worms, such as earthworms, are used for locomotion. Microscopic setae on the feet of geckos allow adhesion to vertical surfaces.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• setaceous
  adjective
• setaceously
  adverb
• setal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• setae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of seta

First recorded in 1785–95, seta is from the Latin word sēta, saeta “bristle”

Example Sentences

Geckos’ toes are covered with hundreds of thousands of tiny hairs known as setae, with each seta, in turn, branching into hundreds of tiny, flat, triangular tips called spatulae.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

I knew that the word for underpants is mutande, but seta, meaning "silk", was not then in my vocabulary.

From The Guardian • Jan. 9, 2011

We have sent for the Sheriff, and we'll seta watch here a' night, in case the gipsies return; but YOU--ye maun come hame, sir, for my lady's in the dead-thraw.'

From Guy Mannering — Complete by Scott, Walter, Sir

At maturity the seta elongates rapidly, and the wall of the capsule splits more or less completely into four valves, allowing the elaters and spores to escape.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various

Setiform: in the form of a bristle or seta: when a slender short bristle arises from a thicker basal joint.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.