seta
Americannoun
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setae
plural
noun
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(in invertebrates and some plants) any bristle or bristle-like appendage
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(in mosses) the stalk of the sporophyte that bears the capsule
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setae
plural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of seta
First recorded in 1785–95, seta is from the Latin word sēta, saeta “bristle”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
After a time the upper region increases in diameter and forms the capsule, while the lower portion forms the long seta and the foot which is embedded in the end of the stem.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various
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 Sir Walter Scott
This star is found pictured in the astronomical texts by a turtle, the name for which is seta, sita, sit or set; in Greek texts cit.
From The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations by Zelia Nuttall
The caterpillars’ setae may be sensitive to all three, Casas says, making it tough to tell how important the ability to detect the electric field may be for protection.
From Science Magazine ● May 20, 2024
That observation suggests the setae have evolved to detect a wasp’s particular electrostatic signature.
From Science Magazine ● May 20, 2024
The researchers also found that the caterpillars’ setae responded most dramatically when the electric field oscillated at a rate comparable to the beating of a wasp’s wings.
From Science Magazine ● May 20, 2024
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
Other Sense-Organs.—As in Arthropoda, the hairs or setae on the surface of the body are important organs of sense and are variously modified for special sensory functions.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
