superstratum
Americannoun
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an overlying stratum or layer.
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Historical Linguistics. a set of features of a language traceable to the influence of a language formerly spoken within the same society by a dominant group.
English has a Norman-French superstratum.
noun
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geology a layer or stratum overlying another layer or similar structure
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linguistics the language of a conquering or colonizing population as it supplants that of an indigenous population, as for example French and English in the Caribbean Compare substratum
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of superstratum
1800–10; super- + stratum; cf. substratum
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Superstratum, sū-pėr-strā′tum, n. a stratum or layer situated above another.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
