stratum

stratum
stratous, adj.
/stray"teuhm, strat"euhm/, n., pl. strata /stray"teuh, strat"euh/, stratums.
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. Geol. a single bed of sedimentary rock, generally consisting of one kind of matter representing continuous deposition.
4. Biol. a layer of tissue; lamella.
5. Ecol. (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. Sociol. a level or grade of a people or population with reference to social position, education, etc.: the lowest stratum of society.
8. Ling. (in stratificational grammar) a major subdivision of linguistic structure. Cf. level (def. 18).
[1590-1600; < L stratum lit., a cover, n. use of neut. of stratus, ptp. of sternere to spread, STREW, equiv. to stra- var. s. + -tus ptp. suffix]
Usage. 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.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • stratum — [ stratɔm ] n. m. • XVIIIe chim.; mot lat. ♦ Histol. Couche. ● stratum nom masculin (latin stratum, couche) Stratum granulosum et stratum lucidum, couches de cellules de l épiderme, entre le réseau muqueux de Malpighi et la couche cornée de l… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Stratum — (n., Pl. Strata, eingedeutscht auch Straten, lat. „Schicht“, „Decke“) bedeutet: in der Archäologie eine bestimmte Schicht der Ausgrabung, siehe Stratum (Archäologie) in der Geologie die kleinste Gesteinseinheit, die sich von anderen Einheiten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • stratum — (n.) horizontal layer, 1590s, from Mod.L. stratum, special use of L. stratum thing spread out, coverlet, pavement, from neuter pp. of sternere to spread out, lay down, stretch out, from PIE *stre to to stretch, extend, from root *stere to spread …   Etymology dictionary

  • stratum — stratum; sub·stratum; su·per·stratum; …   English syllables

  • 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stratum — strȃtum m DEFINICIJA 1. anat. sloj stanica ili tkiva na različitim anatomskim lokalizacijama 2. geol. arheol. u geologiji i arheologiji, sloj, naslaga ETIMOLOGIJA lat. stratum: pokrivač …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • stratum — ► NOUN (pl. strata) 1) a layer or a series of layers of rock. 2) a thin layer within any structure. 3) a level or class of society. DERIVATIVES stratal adjective. USAGE It is incorrect to use strata …   English terms dictionary

  • stratum — [strāt′əm, strat′əm] n. pl. strata [strātə, strat′ə] or stratums [ModL < L, a covering, blanket < stratus, pp. of sternere, to spread, stretch out, cover: for IE base see STREW] 1. a horizontal layer or section of material, esp. any of… …   English World dictionary

  • Stratum — (lat.), 1) überhaupt Schicht; 2) bes. Häute, od. hautartige Gebilde, welche schichtenweise übereinander liegen, s. Strata. Daher S. cellulōsum, eine außen auf der Rinde liegende, bei starker Entwickelung den Kork bildende Lage von Zellengewebe; S …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Stratum — (lat.), Schicht; s. Strata …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Stratum — Stratum, Mehrzahl strata. lat., Schichte, Lager; stratificiren, schichten; Stratification, die Schichtung der Gebirgsarten …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

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