Adjacent Words

Stratum definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STRATUM, n. plu. stratums or strata. The latter is most common. [L., to spread or lay.]
1. In geology and mineralogy, a layer; any species of earth, sand, coal and the like, arranged in a flat form, distinct from the adjacent matter. The thicker strata are called beds; and these beds are sometimes stratified.
2. A bed or layer artificially made.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
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, stratum, social class, socio-economic 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, layer, stratum]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural strata) Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, spread, bed, from neuter of stratus, past participle of sternere to spread out — more at strew Date: 1599 1. a bed or layer artificially made 2. a. a sheetlike mass of sedimentary rock or earth of one kind lying between beds of other kinds b. a region of the sea or atmosphere that is analogous to a stratum of the earth c. a layer of tissue <deep stratum of the skin> d. a layer in which archaeological material (as artifacts, skeletons, and dwelling remains) is found on excavation 3. a. a part of a historical or sociological series representing a period or a stage of development b. a socioeconomic level of society comprising persons of the same or similar status especially with regard to education or culture 4. one of a series of layers, levels, or gradations in an ordered system <strata of thought> 5. a statistical subpopulation Usage: The plural strata has occasionally been used as a singular since the 18th century and is sometimes given the plural stratas <there was a strata of Paris which mere criticism of books fails to get hold of — Ezra Pound> <a Roman burial ground suggests stratas of corruption and decay — Connie Fletcher, Booklist>. Current evidence shows senses 2, 3b, and 4 so used, with 3b the most common. Singular strata is persistent but not frequent. Strata may someday establish itself as a singular like agenda, but that use is still not established.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. strata) 1 esp. Geol. a layer or set of successive layers of any deposited substance. 2 an atmospheric layer. 3 a layer of tissue etc. 4 a a social grade, class, etc. (the various strata of society). b Statistics each of the groups into which a population is divided in stratified sampling. Derivatives: stratal adj. Etymology: L, = something spread or laid down, neut. past part. of sternere strew

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Stratum Stra"tum, n.; pl. E. Stratums, L. Strata. The latter is more common. [L., from sternere, stratum, to spread; akin to Gr. ? to spread, strew. See Strew, and cf. Consternation, Estrade, Prostrate, Stratus, Street.] 1. (Geol.) A bed of earth or rock of one kind, formed by natural causes, and consisting usually of a series of layers, which form a rock as it lies between beds of other kinds. Also used figuratively. 2. A bed or layer artificially made; a course.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(strata) 1. A stratum of society is a group of people in it who are similar in their education, income, or social status. (FORMAL) It was an enormous task that affected every stratum of society... N-COUNT: usu with supp 2. Strata are different layers of rock. (TECHNICAL) Contained within the rock strata is evidence that the region was intensely dry 15,000 years ago. N-COUNT: usu pl

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. [L. pl. Strata.] Layer, bed.

Moby Thesaurus

Appleton layer, F layer, Heaviside-Kennelly layer, Van Allen belt, band, bed, bedding, belt, blood, bracket, branch, caste, category, chemosphere, clan, class, couche, course, deck, division, estate, floor, gallery, grade, group, grouping, head, heading, ionosphere, isothermal region, kin, label, layer, ledge, level, lower atmosphere, measures, order, outer atmosphere, overlayer, overstory, photosphere, pigeonhole, plane, position, predicament, race, rank, rating, rubric, seam, section, sept, set, shelf, stage, standing, station, status, step, story, strain, stratification, stratosphere, subdivision, subgroup, suborder, substratosphere, substratum, superstratum, table, thickness, tier, title, topsoil, tropopause, troposphere, underlayer, understory, understratum, upper atmosphere, vein, zone