the nonliving material on which an animal or plant grows or lives
4. geology
a.
the solid rock underlying soils, gravels, etc; bedrock
b.
the surface to which a fixed organism is attached
5. sociology
any of several subdivisions or grades within a stratum
6. photography
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 (subˈstrative) or substratal (subˈstratal)
adjective
Word origin
C17: from New Latin, from Latin substrātus strewn beneath, from substernere to spread under, from sub- + sternere to spread
substratum in American English
(ˈsʌbˌstreɪtəm; ˈsʌbˌstrætəm)
nounWord forms: pluralˈsubˌstrata (ˈsʌbˌstreɪtə; ˈsʌbˌstrætə) or ˈsubˌstratums
1.
a.
a part, substance, element, etc. which lies beneath and supports another; foundation
b.
any basis or foundation
2.
substrate (sense 2) substrate (sense 3)
3. Loosely
subsoil
4. Botany
the base or material to which a plant is attached and from which it gets nutriment
5. Metaphysics
substance, with reference to the events or causes which act upon it, the changes occurring in it, the attributesthat inhere in it, etc.
6. Photography
a thin layer of material on a photographic film or plate serving as a base for the sensitive emulsion
7. Zoology
the ground or other solid material on which an animal moves or is fastened
Word origin
ModL < L, neut. of substratus, pp. of substernere, to strew beneath < sub-, under + sternere, to spread out < IE base *ster- > strew
Examples of 'substratum' in a sentence
substratum
Theirs was a knowledge of a whole substratum of the population that confused and alarmed her.