substratumn.
/ˈsʌbˌstrɑːtəm/, /ˈsʌbˌstreɪtəm/, /ˌsʌbˈstrɑːtəm/, /ˌsʌbˈstreɪtəm/, U.S. /ˈsəbˈˌstreɪdəm/, /ˈsəbˈˌstrɑdəm/ 1. An underlying principle on which something is based; a basis, a foundation, a bedrock.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > [noun]
ground1340
root1340
substancec1384
fundament1395
foundationc1400
groundment?a1412
footing1440
anvila1450
bottom ground1557
groundwork1557
foot1559
platform1568
subsistence1586
subject matter1600
ground-colour1614
basisa1616
substratum1631
basement1637
bottoma1639
fonda1650
fibre1656
fund1671
fundamen1677
substruction1765
starting ground1802
fundus1839
1631 J. Burges Answer Reioyned 32 It is their institution which imprints their signification, & not simply their owne similitude, which is but the substratum.
a1672 Bp. J. Wilkins Of Princ. Nat. Relig. (1675) i. xiv. 214 That basis or substratum upon which the Law is founded.
1798 J. Barry Let. Dilettanti Soc. 65 As a totality which form the very substratum and essence of my Lectures to the Students of the Academy.
1816 S. T. Coleridge Statesman's Man. 22 It is.., the realizing principle, the spiritual substratum of the whole complex body of truths.
1860 W. F. Hook Lives Archbishops Canterbury I. 45 The simple patriarchal faith..was never lost, and when the idolatrous superstitions were removed there still remained a substratum of truth.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 321 The stories themselves doubtless rest on a substratum of fact.
1900 W. L. Courtney Idea of Trag. 58 In Henry Vth's character there was a substratum of common sense, of self-control.
1914 R. Fry Artist & Psycho-anal. 19 It looks as though art had got access to the substratum of all the emotional colours of life.
1985 E. W. Soja in D. Gregory & J. Urry Social Relations & Spatial Struct. vi. 106 In reality.., transformations of the spatio-temporal matrices..are the real substratum of mythical, religious, philosophical or ‘experiential’ representations of space-time.
2009 G. Farmelo Strangest Man vii. 94 Dirac's priority was to lay the theory's ‘substrata’,..beginning with mathematically precise formulations of fundamental principles.
2. Philosophy. A permanent underlying thing or essence in which properties inhere. More commonly called substance (cf. substance n. 2, 4a).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > [noun] > matter or substance
substancea1398
first substance1551
subject1590
hypostasis1605
byss1649
body1651
substratum1651
support1660
general substance1697
supporter1697
substrate1730
object-subject1867
1651 T. Whitfield Extent of Divine Providence 11 The Substratum or subject of sin, namely, the naturall motion or action whereto sin cleaves, is such a thing without which sin could not be.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) i. i. 22 The Substance or the Substratum of those Accidents of things which are derived to us by our Sense.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding i. iv. 33 Something..which we take to be the substratum, or support, of those Idea's we do know.
1740 G. Cheyne Ess. Regimen 34 Material Substance is the Substratum of Extension, Impenetrability, Passivity and Figure.
1779 Ld. Kames Sketches Hist. Man (ed. 3) I. i. v. 197 It is beyond the reach of conception, that blood, flesh, fibres, or bones, can be a substratum for thought, for will, for passion, or for any mental quality.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biogr. Lit. I. viii. 129 Different modes, or degrees in perfection, of a common substratum.
1838 F. Haywood tr. I. Kant Critick Pure Reason i. 176 Substances (in the phenomenon) are the substrata of all determinations of time.
1874 H. Sidgwick Methods of Ethics i. ix. 102 Permanent substrata or Noumena.
1919 T. H. Billings Platonism of Philo Judaeus iii. 45 But Plato did believe in a material substratum.
1995 Oxf. Compan. Philos. 858/1 Without an underpinning substance or substratum to which to belong, could they [sc. properties and attributes] have reality?
3. The matter out of which something is made or created; the fundamental or basic constituents of something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > material
matter1340
substancec1350
subject matter1535
making1623
material1624
substratuma1676
materiality1811
hypostase1867
materiature1881
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) 345 He used the Matter which he had created to be the substratum of the Corporeal Natures, even of Man himself.
1708 Brit. Apollo 13–18 Feb. That Hail and Snow are produc'd out of the same Substratum or matter.
1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 270 From a combination of the basis of vital air, with the substratum of carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus, arise the carbonic, sulphuric, and phosphoric acids.
c1825 T. Chalmers Let. in W. Hanna Mem. T. Chalmers (1850) III. 65 (note) With our Scottish peasantry, the substratum of the meal is either potatoes or bread.
1828 J. Quain Elements Anat. Introd. 8 The osseous structure..constitutes the substratum, to which the other parts are, as it were, applied.
1875 B. Stewart & P. G. Tait Unseen Universe vii. §213. 167 The atoms which form the material substratum of the present universe.
1878 F. J. Bell & E. R. Lankester tr. C. Gegenbaur Elements Compar. Anat. 13 In the living body we observe a number of activities of its material substratum, by which the series of phænomena spoken of as life are conditioned.
2004 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 11 Apr. (BR section) 12 The detailed behavior of the constituents of an underlying microscopic substratum—the many particles making up a gas.
4.
a. An underlying layer or substance; a layer of something below another.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > subsoil
sole1683
undersoil1707
substratum1730
under-earth1765
subsoil1774
subsurface1775
substramen1797
underground1812
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > an underlying layer
substrature1726
substratum1730
understratum1731
litter1848
underlay1883
underlayer1896
substrate1918
the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > condition of being placed under > that which lies under > underlying layer
substrature1726
substratum1730
bottoming1823
substrate1918
underlayment1956
1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum Substratum,..any Layer of Earth or any other Thing that lies under another.
?1764 J. Bush Hibernia Curiosa 79 I do not at all suppose that even the very first..growth of this heath..in any sense sprang from the fallen wood, its neighbouring substratum.
1846 R. Ritchie Railways 10 Substrata of small stones, several feet in thickness.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities i. ii. 4 A loaded blunderbuss lay at the top of six or eight loaded horse-pistols, deposited on a substratum of cutlass.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 83 Coat the plates with an albumen substratum.
1912 H. T. Peck Standard Illustr. Bk. Facts 188/2 These form a layer or substratum on a glass plate on which is then coated a panchromatic emulsion.
1997 Blackwell Encycl. Managem. Information Syst. (1999) 34/2 The storage medium is a round disk with a substratum of metal or plastic.
b. Geology. An underlying stratum, esp. that beneath the soil or other surface feature.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [noun] > stratum > position or direction of strata > underground strata
subterraneal1652
substratum1730
1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum Substratum,..any Layer of Earth..that lies under another.
1738 T. Shaw Trav. Barbary & Levant 230 The chief Substratum of the Shibkah El Low-deah is like a tesselated Pavement.
1813 R. Bakewell Introd. Geol. viii. 197 A proper knowledge of the quality of the sub-soil and the position of the sub-strata is necessary.
1872 A. C. Ramsay Physical Geol. & Geogr. Great Brit. (ed. 3) xvii. 268 The Vale of Clwyd, in Denbighshire—the substratum of which consists of New Red Sandstone.
1925 Geogr. Jrnl. 65 230 The land..is also unusually heavy and compact in texture, without, it appears, any substratum of sand.
1971 Sci. Amer. Oct. 58/3 A plagioclase-rich crust floating on a denser substratum.
2000 M. de Villiers Water (new ed.) i. ii. 40 My grandfather brought in a drilling rig and sank a borehole 300 meters into the rock and shale of the substrata.
c. Biology. The surface or material upon which a plant, fungus, or other organism grows; = substrate n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > fertilizer or manure
fatnessc1420
amendment1483
manure1532
manuring1577
battling1600
dressing1600
worth1609
sucken1615
folding1626
fertilizera1661
sumen1662
recuperativec1679
field dressing1743
top-dressing1744
sweetener1765
settera1793
mendment1798
side dressing1819
substratum1822
manurer1829
liquid manure1837
soil amendment1915
side dress1920
Growmore1944
soil conditioner1952
the world > plants > particular plants > fungi > [noun] > matter upon which fungus grows
substratum1876
1822 New Monthly Mag. 6 218/1 The same principle might be applied to raising early asparagus, viz. that of placing the roots of the plants over a substratum not in a state of fermentation.
1876 J. Van Duyn & E. C. Seguin tr. E. L. Wagner Man. Gen. Pathol. 101 In the substratum the process of decomposition differs with the fungus present.
1902 Orchid Rev. Apr. 103 In the case of tropical Orchids growing on a substratum of bark, if the roots are forcibly detached, little fragments of the bark will be found torn off with the rhizoids.
1953 G. E. Fogg Metabolism of Algae vi. 96 Agar..is the most familiar polysaccharide of this type, being extensively used as a substratum for the culture of micro-organisms.
2006 J. W. Deacon Fungal Biol. (ed. 4) ii. 44/2 These organisms [sc. slime moulds] are commonly seen in the autumn on moist rotting wood,..and on similar organic substrata where bacteria are abundant.
d. A lower class or stratum of society, esp. one which is characterized by poverty or criminality. Cf. underclass n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [noun] > a low or lower class
lowa1225
vulgar1645
under-sort1655
substratum1830
1830 Causes & Remedies Pauperism 4th Ser. 72/1 It is by no means to the interest of the mother-country that her small capitalists should emigrate, and that her unemployed able-bodied agricultural paupers should be left at home. Those small proprietors are driven from their own country by the substratum of pauperism that is below them.
1855 J. D. Burn Autobiogr. Beggar Boy i. 2 Such as have passed through the various substrata of civilized society.
1873 H. Curwen Hist. Booksellers 363 As the business is conducted by house to house visitation, a substratum of the public is reached which [etc.].
1876 J. Grant Hist. Burgh Schools Scotl. ii. xi. 308 Children belonging to the substratum of society.
1943 M. Millar Wall of Eyes xiii. 168 Murillo belonged to the substratum of criminals, the petty thieves and pickpockets, the pimps and hopheads and peddlers of dirty pictures.
1994 Evening Standard (Nexis) 27 July 9 The Sunday Times and the Daily Mail..would have you believe that single mothers are creating an ‘underclass’, a substratum of society composed of delinquents and criminals?
5. Linguistics. Cf. earlier substrate n. 3.
a. A language spoken in a particular area at the time of the arrival of a new language, and which has had within that area a detectable influence on the elements or features of the new language.Typically used in describing a situation in which the group speaking the new language has become socially dominant and the community of speakers of the existing language has switched to using this new language, in the process importing some linguistic features from their own language into it.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > [noun] > linguistic change > specific features or processes involved in > language containing relics of earlier language
substrate1879
substratum1908
substrate language1926
substratum language1962
1908 S. Konow in T. G. Bailey Langs. Northern Himalayas Pref. p. iv It can be Aryan, but I think it more probable that it is to be explained by the supposition of an old Muṇḍā substratum.
1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. xxi. 386 There is no sense in the mystical version of the substratum theory, which attributes changes, say, in modern Germanic languages, to a ‘Celtic substratum’.
1952 Word 8 213 There is no good reason for assuming an Oscan substratum for all of Sicily, Sardinia or Southern Italy.
1996 H. H. Hock & B. D. Joseph Lang. Hist., Lang. Change, & Lang. Relationship xii. 386 Even Grimm's Law has been attributed to some unknown substratum.
b. More generally: a language spoken by a socially subordinate group, which has influenced that of the socially dominant one, or contributed to the formation of a Creole. Cf. adstratum n., superstratum n. 2.
ΚΠ
1947 Mod. Lang. Rev. 42 385 Equally neo-linguistic in inspiration is his [sc. Bruno Migliorini's] distinction..between ‘substratum’, ‘superstratum’ (Germanic influence on Italian) and ‘adstratum’ (Flemish influence on Walloon).
1956 J. Whatmough Lang. iv. 51 We have superimposed or adjacent languages (superstratum, substratum, and adstratum).
1972 H. Kurath Stud. Area Ling. 120 The phonemic system of Gullah shows some clear influence of the African substratum.
1997 Eng. World-wide 18 169 A reliable demographic basis also permits us to suggest safer hypotheses concerning the effects of substratum and superstratum.
2009 P. Durkin Oxf. Guide Etymol. vi. 162 It is sometimes assumed that..Anglo-French constituted a superstratum (rather than an adstratum or substratum).
Compounds
C1. General attributive, esp. in senses 4 and 5. Cf. substratal adj.
ΚΠ
1881 Indian Forester Oct. 133 Provided that the impermeable substratum layer be replaced by sand or other porous material.
1932 P. S. Shurrager Ecol. Study Fishes Hocking River 383 Substratum rocks and gravel leading to sand; depth 4.5 feet.
1937 J. Orr tr. I. Iordan Introd. Romance Linguistics i. 12 An historical summary of the substratum problem.
1952 R. Hall in Lingua 3 144 The basic prerequisite for the possibility of substratum influence is a language transfer which takes place through a stage of bilingualism.
1997 Lang. in Society 26 65 These features appear to reflect the influence of the Maori language, and could be considered substratum features.
2006 Hurricane Katrina (U.S. Congr.) xvii. 276 The two breach sites along the London Avenue Canal appear to have been the result of foundational instability near the fine sand and clay substratum layers at the site.
C2.
substratum language n. Linguistics a language which forms a substratum to another; = substrate language n. at substrate n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > [noun] > linguistic change > specific features or processes involved in > language containing relics of earlier language
substrate1879
substratum1908
substrate language1926
substratum language1962
1962 M. F. Burrill & E. Bonsack in F. W. Householder & S. Saporta Probl. Lexicogr. 189 Words which had the force of generic terms in substratum languages may not be understood as generic terms by the present-day populace.
1980 Eng. World-wide 1 i. 150 It is not legitimate to compare a static description of creole with a static description of a substratum language.
2001 Linguistics (Nexis) 1 Mar. 371 The features that are common to all the relexified lexicons (that is, to all the substratum languages) will most probably be maintained in the creole.
substratum theory n. Linguistics a theory that attributes linguistic change to the influence of a substrate language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > [noun] > linguistic change > theories of
polygenesis1863
Wellentheorie1886
substratum theory1923
neo-linguistics1931
wave theory1933
monogenesis1936
Stammbaumtheorie1954
1923 Mod. Lang. Rev. 18 92 Chapter XI..sharply attacks the overstraining of the racial substratum theory by recent philologists with special reference to the fronting of Latin ū in the Romance and Celtic languages and to Feist's and Wessely's explanations of the Germanic shifts.
1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. xxi. 386 The substratum theory attributes sound-change to transference of language: a community which adopts a new language will speak it..with the phonetics of its mother-tongue.
1996 Language 72 821 The substratum theory of influences from indigenous or African languages.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1631