superstratum

American  

[soo-per-strey-tuhm, -strat-uhm, soo-per-strey-tuhm, -strat-uhm] / ˈsu pərˌstreɪ təm, -ˌstræt əm, ˌsu pərˈstreɪ təm, -ˈstræt əm /

noun

plural

superstrata, superstratums

1. an overlying stratum or layer.

2. 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.

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superstratum British  

/ -ˈstreɪ-, ˌsuːpəˈstrɑːtəm /

noun

1. geology a layer or stratum overlying another layer or similar structure

2. 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

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Etymology

Origin of superstratum

1800–10; super- + stratum; substratum

Example Sentences

It was composed of granite at the base and capped with horizontal strata of sandstone, some of the beds containing large water-worn pebbles, and the superstratum highly ferruginous.

From Journals of Australian Explorations by Gregory, Augustus Charles

After leaving the narrow valley which the river has cut for itself through a superstratum of yellowish clay, the country becomes nearly level--a dreary plain, covered with fern and the manuka bush.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 2 by MacGillivray, John

The superstratum was very light, and brownish black, the remainder yellowish brown, the yellow tints as well as the stiffness increasing downwards. 

From Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries by Griffith, William

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.

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

Related Words

• coating
• facade
• skin
• surface