stratum

[ strey-tuhm, strat-uhm ]

/ ˈstreɪ təm, ˈstræt əm /

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See synonyms for: stratum / strata on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural stra·ta [strey-tuh, strat-uh], /ˈstreɪ tə, ˈstræt ə/, stra·tums.

a layer of material, naturally or artificially formed, often one of a number of parallel layers one upon another: a stratum of ancient foundations.

one of a number of portions or divisions likened to layers or levels: an allegory with many strata of meaning.

Geology. a single bed of sedimentary rock, generally consisting of one kind of matter representing continuous deposition.

Biology. a layer of tissue; lamella.

Ecology. (in a plant community) a layer of vegetation, usually of the same or similar height.

a layer of the ocean or the atmosphere distinguished by natural or arbitrary limits.

Sociology. a level or grade of a people or population with reference to social position, education, etc.: the lowest stratum of society.

Linguistics. (in stratificational grammar) a major subdivision of linguistic structure.Compare level (def. 17).

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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

usage note for stratum

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, phenomena.

OTHER WORDS FROM stratum

stratous, adjective

Words nearby stratum

stratocumulus, stratopause, stratosphere, stratovolcano, Stratton, stratum, stratum compactum, stratum corneum, stratum functionale, stratum lucidum, stratum spongiosum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for stratum

My eye catches the calm and smooth stratum of gray clouds that approach from the south.
After War: Anger, Panic, and Sometimes Peace|Benjamin Tupper|June 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But their young deputies and ministerial director generals tended to be from this recently-returned, Western-educated stratum.
A Ray of Light in Islamist Gloom|Benny Morris|July 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
People who do well do not deserve what they have gotten - they got it because they were born into the right social stratum.
Now All Americans Are Losing Ground|David Frum|February 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They were born into the wrong social stratum, or were handicapped by personal weaknesses that were not their fault.
Now All Americans Are Losing Ground|David Frum|February 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST

And lifting them carefully one off the other, he took out a deal box that had stood in the lowest stratum.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
It is only a lower stratum, but still it is a part of terra firma, and on no account is it to be ignored.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
They reached a depth in his nature which had been long untouched; a stratum, so to speak, which lay far beneath the surface.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
I thought that the frozen surface of the American woman thawed on the stratum soubrette.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Reddish, very quartzose sandstone; from a stratum which dips to the south-east, at an angle of about ten or fifteen degrees.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King

British Dictionary definitions for stratum

stratum

/ (ˈstrɑːtəm) /

noun plural -ta (-tə) or -tums

(usually plural) any of the distinct layers into which sedimentary rocks are divided

biology a single layer of tissue or cells

a layer of any material, esp one of several parallel layers

a layer of ocean or atmosphere either naturally or arbitrarily demarcated

a level of a social hierarchy that is distinguished according to such criteria as educational achievement or caste status

Derived forms of stratum

stratal, adjective

Word Origin for stratum

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

Medical definitions for stratum

stratum

[ strā′təm, străt′əm ]

n. pl. stra•tums

A horizontal layer of material, especially one of several parallel layers arranged one on top of another.

Any of the layers of differentiated tissue forming an anatomical structure.

Other words from stratum

stra′tal (-təl) adj.

Scientific definitions for stratum

stratum

[ strā′təm, străt′əm ]

Plural strata stratums

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.

A layer of tissue, as of the skin or another organ.

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stratum

noun, plural stra·ta [strey-tuh, strat-uh], /ˈstreɪ tə, ˈstræt ə/, stra·tums.