'aristate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'arista', where 'arista' meant 'awn' or 'the beard (of grain)', a bristle-like projection.

'aristate' came into scientific English from Neo-Latin/Latin forms such as 'aristatus', ultimately derived from Latin 'arista', and was adopted in botanical and zoological terminology to denote bristle-bearing structures.

Initially it meant 'having an awn or bristle', and this core meaning has been preserved in modern scientific usage.