9 results for: Stratum

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

stra·tum

Audio Help [strey-tuh

m, strat-uh

m] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural stra·ta

Audio Help [strey-tuh, strat-uh] Pronunciation Key, stra·tums.

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

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

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

4.	Biology. a layer of tissue; lamella.

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

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

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

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

[Origin: 1590–1600; < L strātum lit., a cover, n. use of neut. of strātus, ptp. of sternere to spread, strew, equiv. to strā- var. s. + -tus ptp. suffix

]

—Related forms

stratous, adjective

—Usage note 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, phenomenon.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Stratum

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

stra·tum Audio Help (strā'təm, strāt'əm) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. stra·ta (-tə) or stra·tums

A horizontal layer of material, especially one of several parallel layers arranged one on top of another.
Geology A bed or layer of sedimentary rock having approximately the same composition throughout.
Any of the regions of the atmosphere, such as the troposphere, that occur as layers.
Biology A layer of tissue: the epithelial stratum.
A level of society composed of people with similar social, cultural, or economic status.
One of a number of layers, levels, or divisions in an organized system: a complex poem with many strata of meaning.

[Latin strātum, a covering, from neuter past participle of sternere, to spread; see stratus.]

stra'tal (strāt'l) adj.

Usage Note: The standard singular form is stratum; the standard plural is strata (or sometimes stratums), not stratas.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
stratum

"horizontal layer," 1599, from Mod.L., special use of L. stratum "thing spread out, coverlet, pavement," from neut. pp. of sternere "to spread out, lay down, stretch out," from PIE *stre-to- "to stretch, extend," from base *stere- "to spread, extend, stretch out" (see structure).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

stratum
noun
1.	one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock)
2.	people having the same social, economic, or educational status; "the working class"; "an emerging professional class" [syn: class]
3.	an abstract place usually conceived as having depth; "a good actor communicates on several levels"; "a simile has at least two layers of meaning"; "the mind functions on many strata simultaneously" [syn: level]

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

stratum Audio Help (strā'təm, strāt'əm) Pronunciation Key
Plural strata or 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.

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

stra·tum (strtm, strtm)
n. pl. stra·tums or stra·ta (-t)

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.

stratal (-t

l) adj.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: stra·tum
Pronunciation: 'strAt-&m, 'strat-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural stra·ta /'strAt-&, 'strat-/
1 : a layer of tissue <a deep stratum of the skin>
2 : a statistical subpopulation

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Stratum

Con`ster*na"tion\, n. [L. consternatio, fr. consternare to overome, perplex, an accessory form of consternere to trow down, prostrate; con + sternere to spread out, throw down: cf. F. consternation. See Stratum.] Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for reflection; terror, combined with amazement; dismay.

The chiefs around, In silence wrapped, in consternation drowned. Attend the stern reply. --Pope.

Syn: Alarm; fright; amazement; astonishment; surprise; panic; perturbation. See Alarm.

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