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stratify

[strat-uh-fahy]
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verb (used with object), strat·i·fied, strat·i·fy·ing.
  1. to form or place in strata or layers.
  2. to preserve or germinate (seeds) by placing them between layers of earth.
  3. Sociology. to arrange in a hierarchical order, especially according to graded status levels.
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verb (used without object), strat·i·fied, strat·i·fy·ing.
  1. to form strata.
  2. Geology. to lie in beds or layers.
  3. Sociology. to develop hierarchically, especially as graded status levels.
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Origin of stratify

1655–65; modeled on New Latin strātificāre, equivalent to strāti- strati- + -ficāre -fy
Related formsde-strat·i·fy, verb (used with object), de-strat·i·fied, de-strat·i·fy·ing.mul·ti·strat·i·fied, adjectivenon·strat·i·fied, adjectivesem·i·strat·i·fied, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stratify

Historical Examples

  • It will stratify, and force itself onward through the adjacent and opposing atmosphere, and in a right line.

    The Philosophy of the Weather

    Thomas Belden Butler

  • But already the Mississippi Valley was beginning to stratify, both socially and geographically.

    The Frontier in American History

    Frederick Jackson Turner

  • A gas, as explained, is of such a character that it remains fixed and will not stratify or condense.

    Motors

    James Slough Zerbe

  • Society will stratify itself according to the laws of social gravitation.

    A Mortal Antipathy

    Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

British Dictionary definitions for stratify

stratify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied
  1. to form or be formed in layers or strata
  2. (tr) to preserve or render fertile (seeds) by storing between layers of sand or earth
  3. sociol to divide (a society) into horizontal status groups or (of a society) to develop such groups
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Derived Formsstratified, adjective

Word Origin

C17: from French stratifier, from New Latin stratificāre, from Latin stratum
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 stratify

v.

1660s, from French stratifier, from Modern Latin stratificare, from stratum (see stratum). Related: Stratified; stratifying.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper