stratumn.

Brit.

/ˈstrɑːtəm/,

/ˈstreɪtəm/, U.S.

/ˈstreɪdəm/,

/ˈstrɑdəm/,

/ˈstrædəm/

Inflections: Plural strata, stratums.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin stratum, strātum.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin stratum (1669 in geology, in the passage translated in quot. 1671 at sense 2a, or earlier), specific use of classical Latin strātum piece of bedding, coverlet, bed or couch, saddlecloth, horse-blanket, level floor, platform, lit. something spread or laid down, neuter past participle of sternere (see below). Compare slightly earlier stratum super stratum adv.Classical Latin sternere apparently shows an early merger of two distinct, homonymous verbs: (i) in senses ‘to lay out, spread, to scatter over the ground, to lie or throw oneself prostrate’ < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit stṛṇāti , Avestan stərənāiti , both in sense ‘spreads out’, ancient Greek στόρνυναι to spread out (past participle στρωτός ), Early Irish sernaid he spreads out; (ii) in senses ‘to level, knock down, to lay low, overthrow’ < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit stṛṇoti overthrows, ancient Greek στρατός army (see stratocracy n.). Specific senses. In stratum upon stratum (compare quot. 1699 at sense 1) after post-classical Latin stratum super stratum stratum super stratum adv. N.E.D. (1917) notes the plural form stratums (only in sense 2a) as being ‘not in scientific use’, but this form has persisted in occasional use since the late 17th cent., mainly in senses 1, 2a, and 3.

1. A quantity of a substance or material spread or laid over a surface, esp. horizontally, to a more or less uniform thickness; a thin layer or coating; esp. each of two or more parallel layers placed successively one upon another.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun]

leyne?c1390

flake1577

lain1577

lay1588

stratum1599

bed1600

layer1615

strata1676

floor1692

laying1703

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > layers

stratum1599

1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 54/1 Take a Copper basen,..insparge on the bottome therof a stratum of sault [Ger. spreng Salz auff den boden], and on that sault a row of mature Strawberryes.

1677 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Oxford-shire 249 [He] first laid at the bottom green Black-thorn bushes, and on them a stratum of large round stones.

1683 J. Reid Scots Gard'ner ii. ii. 69 Make Stratums of Earth, dung and unslaked limestones to ly a year.

1699 J. Evelyn Acetaria App. sig. P4 Cover the Bottom of the Jar with some Dill, an Handful of Bay-Salt, &c. and then a Bed of Nuts; and so stratum upon stratum, as above.

a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo ii, in Wks. (1721) III. 46 Thus of each Age..The Strata there of Graves distinct remain.

1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. x. Notes, in Wks. (1851) VI. 301 According to M. de Condamine, there were regular strata of building in some parts of Atun-Cannar, which he remarks as singular.

1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. II. 338 Scrape off..the stratum of verdigrise which covers each side of the plate.

1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 313 To prevent the attacks of slugs and worms, some cultivators recommend a stratum of lime..to be placed at the bottom of the bed.

1883 Cent. Mag. Mar. 667/1 That was the way he carried his wares: in tiers, strings, strata, all tied together and on himself, in some inexplicable way.

1902 A. L. Baldry Mod. Mural Decoration 101 The plaster is so laid that the incisions in an upper coat reveal a lower stratum of a contrasting colour.

1988 M. Moorcock Mother London ii. 63 Its windows looked onto a miserable courtyard containing several strata of litter from surrounding offices.

2015 J. L. Marshall & V. R. Marshall in T. Kaiho Iodine Chem. & Applic. ix. 198 The manager of a nitrary would lay down a stratum of lime and cover it with manure, garbage, corpses, and any other organic material.

2. In various technical contexts.

a. A natural layer or bed of sediment or rock having a consistent composition and representing a more or less continuous period of deposition, typically consisting of a series of narrower homogeneous layers and itself forming one of a series of successive distinct layers (cf. formation n. 5a).In early use, applied to layers at various scales of magnitude, including narrower layers that would now be regarded as laminae or bedding planes. Sedimentary strata are presumed to have been essentially horizontal when formed, but may have been folded, distorted, or displaced by subsequent geological processes.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [noun] > stratum

coursec1430

couch1661

stratum1671

dess1673

strata1676

bed1684

floor1692

flooring1697

stratificationa1703

rock1712

liea1728

lay-bed1728

post1794

1671 H. O. tr. Steno Prodr. Diss. Solids 37 To the Sediments of Fluids do belong the Strata [L. strata] or Beds of the Earth.

1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 273 Where this stratum or region of clay begins there precisely doth the heat begin.

1695 J. Woodward Ess. Nat. Hist. Earth 30 Shells..fell to the bottom at the same time that the Chalky Particles did, and so were entombed in the Strata of Chalk.

1699 J. Brewer Let. 25 Jan. in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) (1700) 22 485 This Stratum of green Sand and Oyster-shells is..nigh 2 foot deep.

1709 T. Robinson Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland v. 27 Flints..make up no particular Stratum of this Earth, but are a sort of Mundick.

1746 J. Freke Ess. Cause Electr. 5 The various Stratums of the Earth.

1772 T. Pennant Tours Scotl. (1774) 267 This whole stratum lies in an inclined position.

1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 151 Some drill and bore The solid earth, and from the strata there Extract a register by which [etc.].

1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 203 One stratum, composed of many layers, is of a compact nature and fifteen feet thick; it serves as an excellent building stone.

1843 S. C. Hall & A. M. Hall Ireland III. 170 The black irregular rocks, the stratums of many colours and the débris of a sloping bank.

1875 J. Geikie Geol. 42 Dykes are wall-like masses of igneous strata which cut across the [sedimentary] strata, generally at a high angle.

1913 G. C. Matson & S. Sanford Geol. & Ground Waters Florida 117 Shells and fragments of bone are numerous in certain stratums.

1915 Bull. Wisconsin Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. No. 17. i. ii. 52 As no rock or stratum is entirely impervious and free from minute partings and pore space, no rock is absolutely impenetrable to water.

1972 N. Calder Restless Earth (1975) iii. 64 Strata of every geologic period from the Precambrian to the Quaternary.

1978 R. P. Singhal Home Plumber's Bible ii. 44 Deep wells..are drilled down to a water-bearing stratum, called an aquifer.

2005 M. Bjornerud Reading Rocks iv. 144 The ‘forest floor’ is sandwiched between two bouldery clay strata that are unmistakable glacial deposits.

2015 Scarborough Evening News (Nexis) 12 June He also realised that each stratum contained its own characteristic fossils.

b. A distinct layer of animal or plant tissue; esp. one of a number of such layers.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > substance > [noun] > layer(s) of tissue

stratum1698

1698 W. Cowper Anat. Humane Bodies sig. Ci/1 With the assistance of the Microscope the Cuticula appears composed of divers Strata or Beds of Scales, fastened to the Papillary Surface of the Skin.

1712 Philos. Trans. 1710–12 (Royal Soc.) 27 80 The Fibres of each Muscle are dispos'd into different Strata.

1726 A. Monro Anat. Humane Bones i. 2 The innermost Stratum of the Periosteum seems always to be very distinct and uniform.

1860 T. Laycock Mind & Brain II. 359 Under certain circumstances the [ganglionic] cells are arranged in layers or strata.

1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 554 The cells of the endodermis..often form the outermost stratum of the cork-layer.

a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xviii. 472 Some species have an upright flexible process or horn, which rises from the coalescence of bony scales formed in the lower stratum of the dermis and subcutaneous connective tissue.

1977 Biol. Bull. 153 239 Closely associated with the muscle layer is the connective tissue stratum which appears to be a syncytium of elongated, kidney-shaped nuclei.

2011 Amer. Fern Jrnl. 101 172 The leaf mesophyll, which is usually the main photosynthetic stratum, may vary in the number of palisade and spongy parenchyma layers.

c. A region of the atmosphere, of the sea, or of a quantity of gas or liquid, defined for purposes of analysis or calculation as bounded by horizontal planes; a more or less horizontal region within a fluid substance, without a clear physical boundary but distinguished from adjacent regions by internally consistent properties.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > of atmosphere, sea, etc.

stratum1751

1751 tr. N. A. Pluche Truth of Gospel I. 60 He..supposes a Distance of three hundred Leagues from the Earth to the upper Strata of the Atmosphere.

1774 J. G. W. de Brahm Levelling Balance & Counter-balance 18 The atmosphere is laid out in 291 strata; each stratum is balanced by one inch of mercury.

1812 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. I. 237 If..the heights from the surface be taken increasing in arithmetical progression, the densities of the strata of air will decrease in geometrical progression.

1834 M. Somerville On Connexion Physical Sci. (1849) §xiii. 113 Sir James Ross, who found a stratum of constant temperature in the ocean at a depth depending on the latitude.

1938 E. G. Richardson Physical Sci. Mod. Life i. 16 But again friction steps in and curtails the anticipated rate of flow. This time it causes a dragging of one stratum of fluid over another.

1961 S. Chandrasekhar Hydrodynamic & Hydromagnetic Stability (1981) x. 428 An incompressible fluid of variable density is arranged in horizontal strata.

2003 R. E. Krebs Basics Earth Sci. viii. 199/1 The Earth's atmosphere..consists of several different, fluid, gaseous subspheres, strata, or envelopes.

d. Archaeology. Each of a series of distinct layers or levels in which features or artefacts are found in an archaeological site; a single cultural level of deposits.

ΚΠ

1853 Ulster Jrnl. Archæol. 1 282 The material of the mound..is a coherent loamy gravel. A clean vertical section of it however, exhibited four distinct and well defined strata.

1939 R. G. Collingwood Autobiogr. x. 108 An archaeologist finds a stratum of earth and stones and mortar, mixed with potsherds and coins.

1992 M. R. Josephy tr. Z. Gal Lower Galilee during Iron Age 75 These pots are not widespread, but similar pots are found in stratums V–I at Megiddo.

3. figurative (chiefly from sense 2a).

a. Something conceived of as constituting or belonging to one of a series of layers, as a particular period or process within a chronological sequence, a level or grade within a hierarchy, etc.

ΚΠ

1807 G. Chalmers Caledonia I. 229 (note) The first stratum of names on the map of North-Britain is Cambro-British;..the second stratum..superinduced on the former, was the Gaelic.

1867 A. Barry Life & Wks. Sir C. Barry ii. 43 The superimposed strata of Greek, Roman, Saracenic and Gothic architecture.

1890 J. S. Blackie Ess. Moral & Social Interest 298 In fact a large proportion of the upper strata of English is merely Latin and Greek in a very thin disguise.

1936 N. Wales in E. Snow Living China 336 Until 1917 there existed in..stalemate three fairly distinct strata of literature.

1966 S. M. Lamb Outl. Stratificational Gram. 28 The tactics of the hypophonemic stratum of a language specifies how hypophonemes..are arranged in segments and clusters.

2007 S. Pinker Stuff of Thought v. 251 If learning and using a metaphor requires us to manipulate ideas in a deeper stratum of thought, do we have any idea what these ideas are?

b. spec. A level or class to which people are regarded as belonging, according to their social status, education, or income. Cf. social stratum n. at social adj. and n. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > [noun] > distinction of class > level or grade > collectively

stratum1819

society > society and the community > social class > [noun] > distinction of class > level or grade

mannishOE

placec1330

state1340

gree1382

conditionc1384

sectc1384

sortc1386

ordera1400

raff?a1400

degreea1425

countenancec1477

faction?1529

estate1530

race1563

calibre1567

being1579

coat1579

rang1580

rank1585

tier1590

classis1597

strain1600

consequence1602

regiment1602

sept1610

standinga1616

class1629

species1629

nome1633

quality1636

sort1671

size1679

situation1710

distinction1721

walk of life1733

walk1737

stage1801

strata1805

grade1808

caste1816

social stratum1838

station1842

stratum1863

echelon1950

1819 W. Irving Sketch Bk. ii. 124 The various strata of society..are diffused over the whole surface of the kingdom.

1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xix. 428 In modern times they have practically been drawn from one stratum of society.

1914 Blackwood's Mag. Oct. 505/2 He sprang from that stratum of the middle class..which owes its immediate fortunes to commercial enterprise.

1957 K. A. Wittfogel Oriental Despotism 8 Those nonbureaucratic groups and strata which..spearheaded the rise of a commercial and industrial society.

2009 Atlantic Monthly Oct. 94/1 They..played bridge with the members of a stratum that ran from the ‘less-secure business class’ to the engineers and middle managers.

4. Each of the striations in an electrical discharge which is exhibiting stratification (stratification n. 7).

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > discharge of electricity > [noun] > container > striated appearance

stratification1853

stratum1856

1856 T. R. Robinson in Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1853–7 (1858) 6 428 The meniscoid strata were at first very distinct, but faded away in a few seconds.

1905 W. F. Magie Syllabus Course Lect. Physics 841 [The positive column] appears to be broken into saucer-shaped layers or strata of light, separated by darker spaces.

1994 B. S. Kerner & V. V. Osipov Autosolitons vi. 94 Ionization strata which form in a gas discharge have been known for at least a hundred years.

5. Ecology. A layer of vegetation in a plant community, esp. in a forest, defined largely by the height to which the plants in it grow.

ΚΠ

1901 Bot. Gaz. 31 145 The shrub undergrowth is commonly sparse, and the most frequent members of this stratum are the hazel, Rosa.., Salix humilis, the low blueberry..and the huckleberry.

1933 Ecol. Monogr. 3 30 [Cranefly] inhabitants of marshes and open grassy situations usually rest deep within the grass and sedge stratum.

1967 Bull. Entomol. Res. 57 422 A shrub or small-tree stratum is well developed and contains a high percentage of shrubs with sclerophyllous leaves.

2003 H. S. Neufeld & D. R. Young in F. S. Gilliam & M. R. Roberts Herbaceous Layer Forests Eastern N. Amer. Introd. 3 Often called the herbaceous layer, this stratum of forest vegetation carries with it an ecological significance to the structure and function of the forest ecosystem that belies its physical stature.

6. Statistics. Any one of the various subgroups into which a population is divided in stratified sampling.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > groups or arrangements of data

quartile1879

decile1882

percentile1885

centile1894

array1897

quintile1910

rank order1915

stratum1920

bin1934

quantile1938

realization1941

fractile1952

1920 A. L. Bowley Elements Statistics (ed. 4) II. iv. 332 The question arises whether we should proceed at random.., or..partially arrange the choice so as to take the same proportion out of each region or stratum.

1952 G. Sidelin tr. A. Hald Statist. Theory with Engin. Applic. xvii. 495 When a lot is being loaded a random sample of items may be taken from every truckload, the truckloads being the strata.

1980 C. A. Hawkins & J. E. Weber Statist. Anal. xi. 295 Stratified sampling is appropriate only if the variable of interest is relatively homogeneous within strata and heterogeneous among strata.

2008 D. J. Hand Statistics: Very Short Introd. iii. 53 This procedure is known as stratified sampling, since it divides the overall population listed in the sampling frame into strata.

Compounds

C1.

a. General attributive.

(a) With first element in plural form.Some instances of such compounds could alternatively be taken as showing strata n.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > [adjective] > relating to level or grade

subnascent1667

stratum1789

1789 J. Williams Nat. Hist. Mineral Kingdom I. ii. 338 Sometimes, these flat or strata veins..open wide betwixt the roof and sole.

1814 Jameson in Mem. Wernerian Soc. 2 223 Two contiguous portions of rock, whether separated by strata-streams or not.

1884 J. Le Conte Compend Geol. ii. 179 It remained land-surface and was deeply eroded and the strata-edges exposed.

1955 T. H. Pear Eng. Social Differences i. 23 Within the wholesale trade there are interesting strata-differences.

1977 Dædalus Fall 73 Country-wide strata consciousness.

2012 F. M. Gradstein & J. G. Ogg in F. M. Gradstein et al. Geol. Time Scale 2012 I. ii. 34/2 The practice continued of treating strata divisions largely as biostratigraphic units.

(b) With first element in singular form.

ΚΠ

1849 J. E. Portlock Rudimentary Treat. Geol. 49 Had the dip been 45°..the thickness [of the Earth's crust] would have been 21 miles, and the rise of the stratum edge the same.

1886 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1885–6 14 57 This vein is..a stratum-vein.

1917 Oildom (Bayonne, New Jersey) Mar. 132/2 A discovery of the year in the stratum division.

1955 T. H. Pear Eng. Social Differences vi. 144 Neighbouring families for whom class-consciousness..was usually submerged below stratum-consciousness.

2015 J. Brown in B. F. J. Manly & J. A. Navarro Alberto Introd. to Ecol. Sampling iii. 42 What is considered the neighboring area is..constrained by the stratum boundary.

b. attributive. Law (in some Commonwealth countries, esp. Australia and New Zealand). Designating or relating to a system of registering ownership of individual units within a property which is divided horizontally, such as a multi-storey building. Chiefly in strata title.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > [noun] > title to a storey of a building

stratum1959

1959 N.Z. Law Jrnl. 35 299 The stratum or air-space title method [of handling the ‘own your own flat’ principle], which can give individual Land Transfer titles to each flat occupied.

1962 Statutes of New S. Wales 1961 128 (title) Conveyancing (strata titles) act.

1962 Conveyancing (Strata Titles) Act in Statutes of New S. Wales 1961 129 ‘Strata plan’ means a plan which..shows the whole or any part of the land comprised therein as being divided into two or more strata.

1977 N.Z. Herald 5 Jan. ii. 16/2 (advt.) Home unit, Avondale, as new, strata title, 2 brms, internal garage.

1982 Advertiser (Adelaide) 8 Aug. 33/5 Lockleys $46,500 Maisonette style strata unit. Ent. hall/sunroom. Spacious lounge, 2 b.r., large kitchen, laundry.

2009 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Aug. 6/5 In the US with condominiums and in Australia with Strata title..there is every reason to cooperate with your neighbours.

C2.

strata-bound adj. Geology confined to a single stratum or group of strata.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [adjective] > of or belonging to a stratum > confined to a single stratum

strata-bound1962

1962 Econ. Geol. 57 272 It is..reasonable to expect that a majority of strata-bound ore fields will be readily explainable on explicit grounds of tectonic history.

1979 Nature 15 Nov. 247/1 Uranium mineralisation, for the most part, is strata-bound and occurs in breccia matrix and vugs.

1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 1004 Stratabound massive sulphide deposits of the Elizabeth Mine.

2003 Irish Jrnl. Earth Sci. 21 156/1 The fracture pattern of the region consists of regularly spaced, strata-bound joints and clustered non-strata-bound veins.

† strata peat n. [after German Streifentorf, lit. ‘striped peat’ ( H. Potonié Klassifikation & Terminologie (1906) i. 32), itself after Streifenkohle banded coal (compare banded adj. 3b)] Obsolete rare a deposit consisting of alternate layers of peat and sapropel; banded peat.

ΚΠ

1907 Rep. 76th Meeting Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1906 748 The strata peat comes from places where the peat is periodically under water.

Derivatives

ˈstrata-like adj. reminiscent of geological strata.

ΚΠ

1842 P. J. Selby Brit. Forest Trees 351 The strata-like form the branches naturally assume.

1922 Ann. Iowa 13 275 In this strata-like formation of our early society the primary element..cannot be displaced except by forces of greater weight and influence.

1968 Craft Horizons Nov. 55/2 Sam Richardson works in opaque strata-like forms sprayed to heighten their effect of mysterious life inside.

2014 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 6 Sept. Buildings that were like..the National Theatre, extended the urban landscape with their strata-like public terraces.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	stratum
释义	stratumn. Brit. /ˈstrɑːtəm/, /ˈstreɪtəm/, U.S. /ˈstreɪdəm/, /ˈstrɑdəm/, /ˈstrædəm/ Inflections: Plural strata, stratums. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin stratum, strātum. Etymology: < post-classical Latin stratum (1669 in geology, in the passage translated in quot. 1671 at sense 2a, or earlier), specific use of classical Latin strātum piece of bedding, coverlet, bed or couch, saddlecloth, horse-blanket, level floor, platform, lit. something spread or laid down, neuter past participle of sternere (see below). Compare slightly earlier stratum super stratum adv.Classical Latin sternere apparently shows an early merger of two distinct, homonymous verbs: (i) in senses ‘to lay out, spread, to scatter over the ground, to lie or throw oneself prostrate’ < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit stṛṇāti , Avestan stərənāiti , both in sense ‘spreads out’, ancient Greek στόρνυναι to spread out (past participle στρωτός ), Early Irish sernaid he spreads out; (ii) in senses ‘to level, knock down, to lay low, overthrow’ < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit stṛṇoti overthrows, ancient Greek στρατός army (see stratocracy n.). Specific senses. In stratum upon stratum (compare quot. 1699 at sense 1) after post-classical Latin stratum super stratum stratum super stratum adv. N.E.D. (1917) notes the plural form stratums (only in sense 2a) as being ‘not in scientific use’, but this form has persisted in occasional use since the late 17th cent., mainly in senses 1, 2a, and 3. 1. A quantity of a substance or material spread or laid over a surface, esp. horizontally, to a more or less uniform thickness; a thin layer or coating; esp. each of two or more parallel layers placed successively one upon another. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] leyne?c1390 flake1577 lain1577 lay1588 stratum1599 bed1600 layer1615 strata1676 floor1692 laying1703 the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > layers stratum1599 1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 54/1 Take a Copper basen,..insparge on the bottome therof a stratum of sault [Ger. spreng Salz auff den boden], and on that sault a row of mature Strawberryes. 1677 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Oxford-shire 249 [He] first laid at the bottom green Black-thorn bushes, and on them a stratum of large round stones. 1683 J. Reid Scots Gard'ner ii. ii. 69 Make Stratums of Earth, dung and unslaked limestones to ly a year. 1699 J. Evelyn Acetaria App. sig. P4 Cover the Bottom of the Jar with some Dill, an Handful of Bay-Salt, &c. and then a Bed of Nuts; and so stratum upon stratum, as above. a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo ii, in Wks. (1721) III. 46 Thus of each Age..The Strata there of Graves distinct remain. 1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. x. Notes, in Wks. (1851) VI. 301 According to M. de Condamine, there were regular strata of building in some parts of Atun-Cannar, which he remarks as singular. 1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. II. 338 Scrape off..the stratum of verdigrise which covers each side of the plate. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 313 To prevent the attacks of slugs and worms, some cultivators recommend a stratum of lime..to be placed at the bottom of the bed. 1883 Cent. Mag. Mar. 667/1 That was the way he carried his wares: in tiers, strings, strata, all tied together and on himself, in some inexplicable way. 1902 A. L. Baldry Mod. Mural Decoration 101 The plaster is so laid that the incisions in an upper coat reveal a lower stratum of a contrasting colour. 1988 M. Moorcock Mother London ii. 63 Its windows looked onto a miserable courtyard containing several strata of litter from surrounding offices. 2015 J. L. Marshall & V. R. Marshall in T. Kaiho Iodine Chem. & Applic. ix. 198 The manager of a nitrary would lay down a stratum of lime and cover it with manure, garbage, corpses, and any other organic material. 2. In various technical contexts. a. A natural layer or bed of sediment or rock having a consistent composition and representing a more or less continuous period of deposition, typically consisting of a series of narrower homogeneous layers and itself forming one of a series of successive distinct layers (cf. formation n. 5a).In early use, applied to layers at various scales of magnitude, including narrower layers that would now be regarded as laminae or bedding planes. Sedimentary strata are presumed to have been essentially horizontal when formed, but may have been folded, distorted, or displaced by subsequent geological processes. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [noun] > stratum coursec1430 couch1661 stratum1671 dess1673 strata1676 bed1684 floor1692 flooring1697 stratificationa1703 rock1712 liea1728 lay-bed1728 post1794 1671 H. O. tr. Steno Prodr. Diss. Solids 37 To the Sediments of Fluids do belong the Strata [L. strata] or Beds of the Earth. 1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 273 Where this stratum or region of clay begins there precisely doth the heat begin. 1695 J. Woodward Ess. Nat. Hist. Earth 30 Shells..fell to the bottom at the same time that the Chalky Particles did, and so were entombed in the Strata of Chalk. 1699 J. Brewer Let. 25 Jan. in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) (1700) 22 485 This Stratum of green Sand and Oyster-shells is..nigh 2 foot deep. 1709 T. Robinson Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland v. 27 Flints..make up no particular Stratum of this Earth, but are a sort of Mundick. 1746 J. Freke Ess. Cause Electr. 5 The various Stratums of the Earth. 1772 T. Pennant Tours Scotl. (1774) 267 This whole stratum lies in an inclined position. 1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 151 Some drill and bore The solid earth, and from the strata there Extract a register by which [etc.]. 1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 203 One stratum, composed of many layers, is of a compact nature and fifteen feet thick; it serves as an excellent building stone. 1843 S. C. Hall & A. M. Hall Ireland III. 170 The black irregular rocks, the stratums of many colours and the débris of a sloping bank. 1875 J. Geikie Geol. 42 Dykes are wall-like masses of igneous strata which cut across the [sedimentary] strata, generally at a high angle. 1913 G. C. Matson & S. Sanford Geol. & Ground Waters Florida 117 Shells and fragments of bone are numerous in certain stratums. 1915 Bull. Wisconsin Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. No. 17. i. ii. 52 As no rock or stratum is entirely impervious and free from minute partings and pore space, no rock is absolutely impenetrable to water. 1972 N. Calder Restless Earth (1975) iii. 64 Strata of every geologic period from the Precambrian to the Quaternary. 1978 R. P. Singhal Home Plumber's Bible ii. 44 Deep wells..are drilled down to a water-bearing stratum, called an aquifer. 2005 M. Bjornerud Reading Rocks iv. 144 The ‘forest floor’ is sandwiched between two bouldery clay strata that are unmistakable glacial deposits. 2015 Scarborough Evening News (Nexis) 12 June He also realised that each stratum contained its own characteristic fossils. b. A distinct layer of animal or plant tissue; esp. one of a number of such layers. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > substance > [noun] > layer(s) of tissue stratum1698 1698 W. Cowper Anat. Humane Bodies sig. Ci/1 With the assistance of the Microscope the Cuticula appears composed of divers Strata or Beds of Scales, fastened to the Papillary Surface of the Skin. 1712 Philos. Trans. 1710–12 (Royal Soc.) 27 80 The Fibres of each Muscle are dispos'd into different Strata. 1726 A. Monro Anat. Humane Bones i. 2 The innermost Stratum of the Periosteum seems always to be very distinct and uniform. 1860 T. Laycock Mind & Brain II. 359 Under certain circumstances the [ganglionic] cells are arranged in layers or strata. 1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 554 The cells of the endodermis..often form the outermost stratum of the cork-layer. a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xviii. 472 Some species have an upright flexible process or horn, which rises from the coalescence of bony scales formed in the lower stratum of the dermis and subcutaneous connective tissue. 1977 Biol. Bull. 153 239 Closely associated with the muscle layer is the connective tissue stratum which appears to be a syncytium of elongated, kidney-shaped nuclei. 2011 Amer. Fern Jrnl. 101 172 The leaf mesophyll, which is usually the main photosynthetic stratum, may vary in the number of palisade and spongy parenchyma layers. c. A region of the atmosphere, of the sea, or of a quantity of gas or liquid, defined for purposes of analysis or calculation as bounded by horizontal planes; a more or less horizontal region within a fluid substance, without a clear physical boundary but distinguished from adjacent regions by internally consistent properties. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > of atmosphere, sea, etc. stratum1751 1751 tr. N. A. Pluche Truth of Gospel I. 60 He..supposes a Distance of three hundred Leagues from the Earth to the upper Strata of the Atmosphere. 1774 J. G. W. de Brahm Levelling Balance & Counter-balance 18 The atmosphere is laid out in 291 strata; each stratum is balanced by one inch of mercury. 1812 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. I. 237 If..the heights from the surface be taken increasing in arithmetical progression, the densities of the strata of air will decrease in geometrical progression. 1834 M. Somerville On Connexion Physical Sci. (1849) §xiii. 113 Sir James Ross, who found a stratum of constant temperature in the ocean at a depth depending on the latitude. 1938 E. G. Richardson Physical Sci. Mod. Life i. 16 But again friction steps in and curtails the anticipated rate of flow. This time it causes a dragging of one stratum of fluid over another. 1961 S. Chandrasekhar Hydrodynamic & Hydromagnetic Stability (1981) x. 428 An incompressible fluid of variable density is arranged in horizontal strata. 2003 R. E. Krebs Basics Earth Sci. viii. 199/1 The Earth's atmosphere..consists of several different, fluid, gaseous subspheres, strata, or envelopes. d. Archaeology. Each of a series of distinct layers or levels in which features or artefacts are found in an archaeological site; a single cultural level of deposits. ΚΠ 1853 Ulster Jrnl. Archæol. 1 282 The material of the mound..is a coherent loamy gravel. A clean vertical section of it however, exhibited four distinct and well defined strata. 1939 R. G. Collingwood Autobiogr. x. 108 An archaeologist finds a stratum of earth and stones and mortar, mixed with potsherds and coins. 1992 M. R. Josephy tr. Z. Gal Lower Galilee during Iron Age 75 These pots are not widespread, but similar pots are found in stratums V–I at Megiddo. 3. figurative (chiefly from sense 2a). a. Something conceived of as constituting or belonging to one of a series of layers, as a particular period or process within a chronological sequence, a level or grade within a hierarchy, etc. ΚΠ 1807 G. Chalmers Caledonia I. 229 (note) The first stratum of names on the map of North-Britain is Cambro-British;..the second stratum..superinduced on the former, was the Gaelic. 1867 A. Barry Life & Wks. Sir C. Barry ii. 43 The superimposed strata of Greek, Roman, Saracenic and Gothic architecture. 1890 J. S. Blackie Ess. Moral & Social Interest 298 In fact a large proportion of the upper strata of English is merely Latin and Greek in a very thin disguise. 1936 N. Wales in E. Snow Living China 336 Until 1917 there existed in..stalemate three fairly distinct strata of literature. 1966 S. M. Lamb Outl. Stratificational Gram. 28 The tactics of the hypophonemic stratum of a language specifies how hypophonemes..are arranged in segments and clusters. 2007 S. Pinker Stuff of Thought v. 251 If learning and using a metaphor requires us to manipulate ideas in a deeper stratum of thought, do we have any idea what these ideas are? b. spec. A level or class to which people are regarded as belonging, according to their social status, education, or income. Cf. social stratum n. at social adj. and n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > [noun] > distinction of class > level or grade > collectively stratum1819 society > society and the community > social class > [noun] > distinction of class > level or grade mannishOE placec1330 state1340 gree1382 conditionc1384 sectc1384 sortc1386 ordera1400 raff?a1400 degreea1425 countenancec1477 faction?1529 estate1530 race1563 calibre1567 being1579 coat1579 rang1580 rank1585 tier1590 classis1597 strain1600 consequence1602 regiment1602 sept1610 standinga1616 class1629 species1629 nome1633 quality1636 sort1671 size1679 situation1710 distinction1721 walk of life1733 walk1737 stage1801 strata1805 grade1808 caste1816 social stratum1838 station1842 stratum1863 echelon1950 1819 W. Irving Sketch Bk. ii. 124 The various strata of society..are diffused over the whole surface of the kingdom. 1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xix. 428 In modern times they have practically been drawn from one stratum of society. 1914 Blackwood's Mag. Oct. 505/2 He sprang from that stratum of the middle class..which owes its immediate fortunes to commercial enterprise. 1957 K. A. Wittfogel Oriental Despotism 8 Those nonbureaucratic groups and strata which..spearheaded the rise of a commercial and industrial society. 2009 Atlantic Monthly Oct. 94/1 They..played bridge with the members of a stratum that ran from the ‘less-secure business class’ to the engineers and middle managers. 4. Each of the striations in an electrical discharge which is exhibiting stratification (stratification n. 7). ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > discharge of electricity > [noun] > container > striated appearance stratification1853 stratum1856 1856 T. R. Robinson in Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1853–7 (1858) 6 428 The meniscoid strata were at first very distinct, but faded away in a few seconds. 1905 W. F. Magie Syllabus Course Lect. Physics 841 [The positive column] appears to be broken into saucer-shaped layers or strata of light, separated by darker spaces. 1994 B. S. Kerner & V. V. Osipov Autosolitons vi. 94 Ionization strata which form in a gas discharge have been known for at least a hundred years. 5. Ecology. A layer of vegetation in a plant community, esp. in a forest, defined largely by the height to which the plants in it grow. ΚΠ 1901 Bot. Gaz. 31 145 The shrub undergrowth is commonly sparse, and the most frequent members of this stratum are the hazel, Rosa.., Salix humilis, the low blueberry..and the huckleberry. 1933 Ecol. Monogr. 3 30 [Cranefly] inhabitants of marshes and open grassy situations usually rest deep within the grass and sedge stratum. 1967 Bull. Entomol. Res. 57 422 A shrub or small-tree stratum is well developed and contains a high percentage of shrubs with sclerophyllous leaves. 2003 H. S. Neufeld & D. R. Young in F. S. Gilliam & M. R. Roberts Herbaceous Layer Forests Eastern N. Amer. Introd. 3 Often called the herbaceous layer, this stratum of forest vegetation carries with it an ecological significance to the structure and function of the forest ecosystem that belies its physical stature. 6. Statistics. Any one of the various subgroups into which a population is divided in stratified sampling. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > groups or arrangements of data quartile1879 decile1882 percentile1885 centile1894 array1897 quintile1910 rank order1915 stratum1920 bin1934 quantile1938 realization1941 fractile1952 1920 A. L. Bowley Elements Statistics (ed. 4) II. iv. 332 The question arises whether we should proceed at random.., or..partially arrange the choice so as to take the same proportion out of each region or stratum. 1952 G. Sidelin tr. A. Hald Statist. Theory with Engin. Applic. xvii. 495 When a lot is being loaded a random sample of items may be taken from every truckload, the truckloads being the strata. 1980 C. A. Hawkins & J. E. Weber Statist. Anal. xi. 295 Stratified sampling is appropriate only if the variable of interest is relatively homogeneous within strata and heterogeneous among strata. 2008 D. J. Hand Statistics: Very Short Introd. iii. 53 This procedure is known as stratified sampling, since it divides the overall population listed in the sampling frame into strata. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. (a) With first element in plural form.Some instances of such compounds could alternatively be taken as showing strata n. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > [adjective] > relating to level or grade subnascent1667 stratum1789 1789 J. Williams Nat. Hist. Mineral Kingdom I. ii. 338 Sometimes, these flat or strata veins..open wide betwixt the roof and sole. 1814 Jameson in Mem. Wernerian Soc. 2 223 Two contiguous portions of rock, whether separated by strata-streams or not. 1884 J. Le Conte Compend Geol. ii. 179 It remained land-surface and was deeply eroded and the strata-edges exposed. 1955 T. H. Pear Eng. Social Differences i. 23 Within the wholesale trade there are interesting strata-differences. 1977 Dædalus Fall 73 Country-wide strata consciousness. 2012 F. M. Gradstein & J. G. Ogg in F. M. Gradstein et al. Geol. Time Scale 2012 I. ii. 34/2 The practice continued of treating strata divisions largely as biostratigraphic units. (b) With first element in singular form. ΚΠ 1849 J. E. Portlock Rudimentary Treat. Geol. 49 Had the dip been 45°..the thickness [of the Earth's crust] would have been 21 miles, and the rise of the stratum edge the same. 1886 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1885–6 14 57 This vein is..a stratum-vein. 1917 Oildom (Bayonne, New Jersey) Mar. 132/2 A discovery of the year in the stratum division. 1955 T. H. Pear Eng. Social Differences vi. 144 Neighbouring families for whom class-consciousness..was usually submerged below stratum-consciousness. 2015 J. Brown in B. F. J. Manly & J. A. Navarro Alberto Introd. to Ecol. Sampling iii. 42 What is considered the neighboring area is..constrained by the stratum boundary. b. attributive. Law (in some Commonwealth countries, esp. Australia and New Zealand). Designating or relating to a system of registering ownership of individual units within a property which is divided horizontally, such as a multi-storey building. Chiefly in strata title. ΘΚΠ society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > [noun] > title to a storey of a building stratum1959 1959 N.Z. Law Jrnl. 35 299 The stratum or air-space title method [of handling the ‘own your own flat’ principle], which can give individual Land Transfer titles to each flat occupied. 1962 Statutes of New S. Wales 1961 128 (title) Conveyancing (strata titles) act. 1962 Conveyancing (Strata Titles) Act in Statutes of New S. Wales 1961 129 ‘Strata plan’ means a plan which..shows the whole or any part of the land comprised therein as being divided into two or more strata. 1977 N.Z. Herald 5 Jan. ii. 16/2 (advt.) Home unit, Avondale, as new, strata title, 2 brms, internal garage. 1982 Advertiser (Adelaide) 8 Aug. 33/5 Lockleys $46,500 Maisonette style strata unit. Ent. hall/sunroom. Spacious lounge, 2 b.r., large kitchen, laundry. 2009 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Aug. 6/5 In the US with condominiums and in Australia with Strata title..there is every reason to cooperate with your neighbours. C2. strata-bound adj. Geology confined to a single stratum or group of strata. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [adjective] > of or belonging to a stratum > confined to a single stratum strata-bound1962 1962 Econ. Geol. 57 272 It is..reasonable to expect that a majority of strata-bound ore fields will be readily explainable on explicit grounds of tectonic history. 1979 Nature 15 Nov. 247/1 Uranium mineralisation, for the most part, is strata-bound and occurs in breccia matrix and vugs. 1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 1004 Stratabound massive sulphide deposits of the Elizabeth Mine. 2003 Irish Jrnl. Earth Sci. 21 156/1 The fracture pattern of the region consists of regularly spaced, strata-bound joints and clustered non-strata-bound veins. † strata peat n. [after German Streifentorf, lit. ‘striped peat’ ( H. Potonié Klassifikation & Terminologie (1906) i. 32), itself after Streifenkohle banded coal (compare banded adj. 3b)] Obsolete rare a deposit consisting of alternate layers of peat and sapropel; banded peat. ΚΠ 1907 Rep. 76th Meeting Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1906 748 The strata peat comes from places where the peat is periodically under water. Derivatives ˈstrata-like adj. reminiscent of geological strata. ΚΠ 1842 P. J. Selby Brit. Forest Trees 351 The strata-like form the branches naturally assume. 1922 Ann. Iowa 13 275 In this strata-like formation of our early society the primary element..cannot be displaced except by forces of greater weight and influence. 1968 Craft Horizons Nov. 55/2 Sam Richardson works in opaque strata-like forms sprayed to heighten their effect of mysterious life inside. 2014 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 6 Sept. Buildings that were like..the National Theatre, extended the urban landscape with their strata-like public terraces. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.1599
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