[ see-tuh ]
/ ˈsi tə /
Save This Word!
noun, plural se·tae [see-tee]. /ˈsi ti/. Biology.
a stiff hair; bristle or bristlelike part.
THING
[ see-tuh ]
/ ˈsi tə /
Save This Word!
noun, plural se·tae [see-tee]. /ˈsi ti/. Biology.
a stiff hair; bristle or bristlelike part.
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of seta
First recorded in 1785–95, seta is from the Latin word sēta, saeta “bristle”
OTHER WORDS FROM setasetal, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use seta in a sentence
The entire larva is black and the segments of the body possess numerous tubercles bearing setae.
The abdomen possesses three rows of setae on each side above the spiracles.
The furca is, as a rule, a powerful motor-organ, and has its laminae edged with strong teeth (ungues) or setae or both.
Notopodia reduced to small lobes at base of neuropodia above, these lobes smooth, bearing no emergent setae in the type.
The notocirri have the usual enlarged distal end baring a slender tip and a little exceed the neuropodial setae.
British Dictionary definitions for seta
/ (ˈsiːtə) /
noun plural -tae (-tiː)
(in invertebrates and some plants) any bristle or bristle-like appendage
(in mosses) the stalk of the sporophyte that bears the capsule
Derived forms of setasetaceous (sɪˈteɪʃəs), adjectivesetaceously, adverbsetal, adjective
Word Origin for seta
C18: from Latin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for seta
[ sē′tə ]
Plural setae (sē′tē)
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.