Chaetotaxy

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The arrangement of, and study of arrangement of, chaetae (chitinous bristles) on a species or subspecies of animal, usually and especially an arthropod or annelid. countable, uncountable

    "I propose the term Chætotaxy for the arrangement of bristles on the different parts of the body of the Diptera, the composition of this term being analogous to phyllotaxy, the order or arrangement of leaves of plants."

Example

More examples

"I propose the term Chætotaxy for the arrangement of bristles on the different parts of the body of the Diptera, the composition of this term being analogous to phyllotaxy, the order or arrangement of leaves of plants."

Etymology

By analogy to phyllotaxy, substituting the prefix chaeto- from Greek χαίτη (khaítē). By surface analysis, chaeto- -taxy (compare taxis).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.