Substratum

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Substratum \Sub*stra"tum\, n.; pl. {Substrata}. [L. substratus,
     p. p. of substernere to strew under; sub under + sternere to
     strew. See {Stratum}.]
     1. That which is laid or spread under; that which underlies
        something, as a layer of earth lying under another;
        specifically (Agric.), the subsoil.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Metaph.) The permanent subject of qualities or cause of
        phenomena; substance.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  substratum
       n : any stratum lying underneath another [syn: {substrate}]
       [also: {substrasta} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  115 Moby Thesaurus words for "substratum":
     air, atom, atomic particles, band, base, basement, basis,
     bearing wall, bed, bedding, bedrock, belly, belt, bottom,
     bottom side, breech, brute matter, building block, buttocks,
     chemical element, component, constituent, core, couche, course,
     deck, downside, earth, element, elementary particle,
     elementary unit, fire, floor, flooring, fond, footing, foundation,
     fundament, fundamental, fundamental particle, gallery, ground,
     grounds, groundwork, hardpan, hyle, hypostasis, infrastructure,
     layer, ledge, level, lower side, lowest layer, lowest level,
     material, material world, materiality, matter, measures, meat,
     molecule, monad, natural world, nature, nether side,
     nethermost level, overlayer, overstory, pavement, physical world,
     plenum, principle, radical, riprap, rock bottom, root, rudiment,
     seam, seat, shelf, sill, solid ground, solid rock, stage, step,
     stereobate, story, stratum, stuff, stylobate, substance, substrate,
     substruction, substructure, superstratum, terra firma,
     the four elements, thickness, tier, topsoil, underbelly,
     underbuilding, undercarriage, undergirding, underlayer, underneath,
     underpinning, underside, understory, understratum, understruction,
     understructure, unit of being, water, zone