stratigraphy

[struh-tig-ruh-fee]

noun

a branch of geology dealing with the classification, nomenclature, correlation, and interpretation of stratified rocks.

Origin of stratigraphy

First recorded in 1860–65; strati- + -graphy

Related formsstra·tig·ra·pher, stra·tig·ra·phist, nounstrat·i·graph·ic

[strat-i-graf-ik] /ˌstræt ɪˈgræf ɪk/, strat·i·graph·i·cal, adjectivestrat·i·graph·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stratigraphy

Historical Examples of stratigraphy

It must always be remembered that the evidence is primarily one of stratigraphy.
Man, Past and Present
Agustus Henry Keane
A medal was awarded for a sheet of thirteen sections illustrating the stratigraphy of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, December 1898
Various
Stratigraphy and paleontology are concerned with the sedimentary and life history of the earth.
The Economic Aspect of Geology
C. K. Leith
The latter paper should be carefully read by all students of the stratigraphy of the Lower Palozoic Rocks.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology
J. E. Marr
He made original and important observations on stratification, and laid down some of the fundamental axioms in stratigraphy.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6
Various

British Dictionary definitions for stratigraphy

stratigraphy

noun

the study of the composition, relative positions, etc, of rock strata in order to determine their geological historyAbbreviation: stratig
archaeol a vertical section through the earth showing the relative positions of the human artefacts and therefore the chronology of successive levels of occupation

Derived Formsstratigrapher (strəˈtɪɡrəfə) or stratigraphist (strəˈtɪɡrəfɪst), nounstratigraphic (ˌstrætɪˈɡræfɪk) or stratigraphical, adjective

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 stratigraphy

1865, from Latin strati-, comb. form of stratum (see stratum) + -graphy.

stratigraphy in Medicine