| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| stratum |
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| SYLLABICATION: | stra·tum |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  str  t m, str tm |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. stra·ta (-t) or stra·tums
1. A horizontal layer of material, especially one of several parallel layers arranged one on top of another. 2. Geology A bed or layer of sedimentary rock having approximately the same composition throughout. 3. Any of the regions of the atmosphere, such as the troposphere, that occur as layers. 4. Biology A layer of tissue: the epithelial stratum. 5. A level of society composed of people with similar social, cultural, or economic status. 6. One of a number of layers, levels, or divisions in an organized system: a complex poem with many strata of meaning. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Latin strtum, a covering, from neuter past participle of sternere, to spread. See stratus. | | OTHER FORMS: | stratal (strtl) —ADJECTIVE
| | 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 © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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