Hypertext Webster Gateway: "stratum"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Stratum \Stra"tum\, n.; pl. E. {Stratums}, L. {Strata}. The
latter is more common. [L., from sternere, stratum, to
spread; akin to Gr. ? to spread, strew. See {Strew}, and cf.
{Consternation}, {Estrade}, {Prostrate}, {Stratus},
{Street}.]
1. (Geol.) A bed of earth or rock of one kind, formed by
natural causes, and consisting usually of a series of
layers, which form a rock as it lies between beds of other
kinds. Also used figuratively.
2. A bed or layer artificially made; a course.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
stratum
n : one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on
top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an
organism)
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.