seta

American  

[see-tuh] / ˈsi tə /

noun

Biology.

plural

setae

1. a stiff hair; bristle or bristlelike part.

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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

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seta Scientific  

/ sē′tə /

plural

setae

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.

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Other Word Forms

• setaceous
  adjective
• setaceously
  adverb
• setal
  adjective

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

The seta is short, the capsule being usually raised upon the archegoniophore.

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

In most species the seta is serrated with distant teeth on one side.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by MacGillivray, John

It consists of a capsule usually borne on a longer or shorter stalk or seta, the base of which is inserted into the tissues of the gametophyte.

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