superstratum
Americannoun
plural
superstrata, superstratums-
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
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.
In what he has to say about the Indians, a subject that lies as a superstratum under his work, he is anxious to hear all that can be said.
From Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
And before she could stop him, he had pounced upon it and pulled it out, upsetting a superstratum of gowns in the process.
From Phebe, Her Profession A Sequel to Teddy: Her Book by Ray, Anna Chapin
Anne said little to all these things, and preserved a superstratum of calmness on her countenance; but some inner voice seemed to whisper to her that Bob was no more.
From The Trumpet-Major by Hardy, Thomas
After a time the superstratum of rock, which is full of cracks and seams, is undermined and precipitated into the chasm below.
From The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts by Holley, George W.
The soil is generally deep, more or less yellow, and somewhat clayey; the hollows having a thin superstratum of black mould.
From Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries by Griffith, William
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.
