Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

strata

[strey-tuh, strat-uh, strah-tuh]
See more synonyms for strata on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a plural of stratum.
  2. (usually considered nonstandard) stratum.
Show More

Usage note

See stratum.

stratum

[strey-tuh m, strat-uh m]
noun, plural stra·ta [strey-tuh, strat-uh] /ˈstreɪ tə, ˈstræt ə/, stra·tums.
  1. a layer of material, naturally or artificially formed, often one of a number of parallel layers one upon another: a stratum of ancient foundations.
  2. one of a number of portions or divisions likened to layers or levels: an allegory with many strata of meaning.
  3. Geology. a single bed of sedimentary rock, generally consisting of one kind of matter representing continuous deposition.
  4. Biology. a layer of tissue; lamella.
  5. Ecology. (in a plant community) a layer of vegetation, usually of the same or similar height.
  6. a layer of the ocean or the atmosphere distinguished by natural or arbitrary limits.
  7. Sociology. a level or grade of a people or population with reference to social position, education, etc.: the lowest stratum of society.
  8. Linguistics. (in stratificational grammar) a major subdivision of linguistic structure.Compare level(def 17).
Show More

Origin of stratum

1590–1600; < Latin strātum literally, a cover, noun use of neuter of strātus, past participle of sternere to spread, strew, equivalent to strā- variant stem + -tus past participle suffix
Related formsstra·tous, adjective

Usage note

Strata, historically the plural of stratum, is occasionally used as a singular: The lowest economic strata consists of the permanently unemployable. Less frequently, a plural stratas occurs: Several stratas of settlement can be seen in the excavation. At present, these uses are not well established, and they are condemned in usage guides. Strata may eventually become part of a group of borrowed plurals that are now used as singulars in English, such as agenda and candelabra, but it is not yet in that category. See also agenda, criterion, media, phenomenon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for strata

Historical Examples

  • Gazing on the strata of the earth, he reads the fate of his species.

    Vivian Grey

    Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli

  • Now my theory is, you 're in strata here of what we call the Triassic Age.

  • From this it was only a step to the earth's strata, fossils, crystals—a fresh lecture.

    The Great Hunger

    Johan Bojer

  • The strata of the past, so visible in other medival cities, are not apparent here.

    Italy, the Magic Land

    Lilian Whiting

  • And now, what will be the character of these strata, old and new?

British Dictionary definitions for strata

strata

noun
  1. a plural of stratum
Show More

usage

Strata is sometimes wrongly used as a singular noun: this stratum (not strata) of society is often disregarded

stratum

noun plural -ta (-tə) or -tums
  1. (usually plural) any of the distinct layers into which sedimentary rocks are divided
  2. biology a single layer of tissue or cells
  3. a layer of any material, esp one of several parallel layers
  4. a layer of ocean or atmosphere either naturally or arbitrarily demarcated
  5. a level of a social hierarchy that is distinguished according to such criteria as educational achievement or caste status
Show More
Derived Formsstratal, adjective

Word Origin

C16: via New Latin from Latin: something strewn, from sternere to scatter
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

Word Origin and History for strata

c.1700, plural of stratum.

Show More

stratum

n.

"horizontal layer," 1590s, from Modern Latin stratum, special use of Latin stratum "thing spread out, coverlet, pavement," from neuter past participle of sternere "to spread out, lay down, stretch out," from PIE *stre-to- "to stretch, extend," from root *stere- "to spread, extend, stretch out" (see structure (n.)).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
strata in Medicine

stratum

(strā′təm, străt′əm)
n. pl. stra•tums
  1. A horizontal layer of material, especially one of several parallel layers arranged one on top of another.
  2. Any of the layers of differentiated tissue forming an anatomical structure.
Show More
Related formsstra′tal (-təl) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
strata in Science

stratum

[strā′təm, străt′əm]
Plural strata stratums
  1. A layer of sedimentary rock whose composition is more or less the same throughout and that is visibly different from the rock layers above and below it.
  2. A layer of tissue, as of the skin or another organ.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.