(US -chete).
A bristle or seta.
Greek khaitē, long hair, mane.
Examples include polychaete (Greek polu‑, many), a member of a class of marine annelid worms which comprises the bristle worms; oligochaete (Greek oligoi, few), a member of a class of annelid worms which includes the earthworms, which have simple bristles projecting from each segment; spirochaete, a flexible spirally twisted bacterium, especially one that causes syphilis.
Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Your comments are very welcome.