substratum

[suhb-strey-tuh m, -strat-uh m, suhb-strey-tuh m, -strat-uh m] /ˈsʌbˌstreɪ təm, -ˌstræt əm, sʌbˈstreɪ təm, -ˈstræt əm/
noun, plural substrata
[suhb-strey-tuh, -strat-uh, -suhb-strey-tuh, -strat-uh] /ˈsʌbˌstreɪ tə, -ˌstræt ə, -sʌbˈstreɪ tə, -ˈstræt ə/ (Show IPA), substratums.
1.
something that is spread or laid under something else; a stratum or layer lying under another.
2.
something that underlies or serves as a basis or foundation.
3.
Agriculture. the subsoil.
4.
Biology. the base or material on which a nonmotile organism lives or grows.
5.
Philosophy. substance, considered as that which supports accidents or attributes.
6.
Photography. a layer of material placed directly on a film or plate as a foundation for the sensitive emulsion.
7.
Historical Linguistics. a set of features of a language traceable to the influence of an earlier language that it has replaced, especially among a subjugated population:
The French word for 80, quatre-vingts (“four twenties”), may reflect a Celtic substratum.
Compare superstratum.
Origin
1625-35; < Neo-Latin; see sub-, stratum
Related forms
substrative, substratal, adjective
Examples from the web for substratum
  • Our conscious acts are the outcome of an unconscious substratum created in the mind in the main by hereditary influences.
  • It is only necessary that the mind, the substratum of purpose, should be deliberately formed.
  • Few understand the antecedent legal substratum or its evolution.
  • The substratum is the mineral layer below the subsoil.
  • W h: substratum sampling weight of the h th substratum.
  • Most soils have three major horizons called the surface horizon, the subsoil, and the substratum.
  • These pits are necessary to determine the level of the seasonal high water table and/or the depth of impermeable substratum.
British Dictionary definitions for substratum

substratum

/sʌbˈstrɑːtəm; -ˈstreɪ-/
noun (pl) -strata (-ˈstrɑːtə; -ˈstreɪtə)
1.
any layer or stratum lying underneath another
2.
a basis or foundation; groundwork
3.
the nonliving material on which an animal or plant grows or lives
4.
(geology)
  1. the solid rock underlying soils, gravels, etc; bedrock
  2. the surface to which a fixed organism is attached
5.
(sociol) any of several subdivisions or grades within a stratum
6.
(photog) a binding layer by which an emulsion is made to adhere to a glass or film base Sometimes shortened to sub
7.
(philosophy) substance considered as that in which attributes and accidents inhere
8.
(linguistics) the language of an indigenous population when replaced by the language of a conquering or colonizing population, esp as it influences the form of the dominant language or of any mixed languages arising from their contact Compare superstratum (sense 2)
Derived Forms
substrative, substratal, adjective
Word Origin
C17: from New Latin, from Latin substrātus strewn beneath, from substernere to spread under, from sub- + sternere to spread
Word Origin and History for substratum
n.

1630s, from Modern Latin substratum (plural substrata), neuter singular past participle of Latin substernere "to spread underneath," from sub- (see sub-) + sternere (see stratum).

substratum in Science
substratum
  (sŭb'strā'təm, -strāt'əm)   
Plural substrata or substratums

  1. An underlying layer or stratum.

  2. A surface on which an organism grows or is attached; a substrate.