Substratum
noun
A layer of something that is under or below another layer.
The rocky substratum under the soil provides a solid ground for the building's foundation.
Often appears as...
- rocky substratum
- soil substratum
Usage tips
Technical
noun
The supporting foundation or basis of an idea, structure, or system.
Honesty and integrity should be the substratum of all business practices.
Often appears as...
- substratum of society
- substratum of business
noun
A language that influences another because it was spoken in the same area, mainly linguistics.
Native American languages provide a substratum influence on American English dialects.
Often appears as...
- linguistic substratum
- substratum influence
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A layer of something that is under or below another layer.
The rocky substratum under the soil provides a solid ground for the building's foundation.
Often appears as...
- rocky substratum
- soil substratum
Usage tips
Technical
noun
The supporting foundation or basis of an idea, structure, or system.
Honesty and integrity should be the substratum of all business practices.
Often appears as...
- substratum of society
- substratum of business
noun
A language that influences another because it was spoken in the same area, mainly linguistics.
Native American languages provide a substratum influence on American English dialects.
Often appears as...
- linguistic substratum
- substratum influence
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Physical layer
Refers to real, tangible layers, like rock or sediment, not abstract ones.
Archaeologists studied the substratum to understand the site's history.
Pro Tip 2/3Technical contexts
Mostly used in specialized fields such as geology or construction.
The engineer analyzed the substratum for the new highway.
Pro Tip 3/3Supportive nature
Emphasizes the supporting role of a layer beneath another.
The greenhouse was constructed on a strong substratum.
Pro Tip 1/3Physical layer
Refers to real, tangible layers, like rock or sediment, not abstract ones.
Archaeologists studied the substratum to understand the site's history.
Pro Tip 2/3Technical contexts
Mostly used in specialized fields such as geology or construction.
The engineer analyzed the substratum for the new highway.
Pro Tip 3/3Supportive nature
Emphasizes the supporting role of a layer beneath another.
The greenhouse was constructed on a strong substratum.
Pro Tip 1/3Physical layer
Refers to real, tangible layers, like rock or sediment, not abstract ones.
Archaeologists studied the substratum to understand the site's history.
Pro Tip 2/3Technical contexts
Mostly used in specialized fields such as geology or construction.
The engineer analyzed the substratum for the new highway.
Pro Tip 3/3Supportive nature
Emphasizes the supporting role of a layer beneath another.
The greenhouse was constructed on a strong substratum.
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Quote examples
Erik Erikson
American Psychologist
Every adult, whether he is a follower or a leader, a member of a mass or of an elite, was once a child. He was once small. A sense of smallness forms a substratum in his mind, ineradicably. His triumphs will be measured against this smallness; his defeats will substantiate it.
Quote examples
Anthony Marra
American Writer
A novel can grant humanity even to those who act inhumanely, and by making men and women of monsters, it can offer not only a ground-level view of a particular conflict, but a descent into the substratum of human nature capable of the incomprehensible.
Quote examples
Piet Mondrian
Dutch Artist
I do not know how I shall develop, but for the present, I am continuing to work within ordinary, generally known terrain, different only because of a deep substratum, which leads those who are receptive to sense the finer regions.
Quote examples
John Edgar Wideman
American Writer
What basketball expresses is what jazz expresses. Certain cultural predispositions to make art. All African-American art has a substratum, or baseline, of improvisation and spontaneity. You find that in both basketball and jazz.
Quote examples
T. S. Eliot
American Poet
Poetry may make us from time to time a little more aware of the deeper, unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being, to which we rarely penetrate; for our lives are mostly a constant evasion of ourselves.
Quote examples
P. T. Barnum
American Entertainer
The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick.
Quote examples
Erik Erikson
American Psychologist
Every adult, whether he is a follower or a leader, a member of a mass or of an elite, was once a child. He was once small. A sense of smallness forms a substratum in his mind, ineradicably. His triumphs will be measured against this smallness; his defeats will substantiate it.
Quote examples
Anthony Marra
American Writer
A novel can grant humanity even to those who act inhumanely, and by making men and women of monsters, it can offer not only a ground-level view of a particular conflict, but a descent into the substratum of human nature capable of the incomprehensible.
Quote examples
Piet Mondrian
Dutch Artist
I do not know how I shall develop, but for the present, I am continuing to work within ordinary, generally known terrain, different only because of a deep substratum, which leads those who are receptive to sense the finer regions.
Quote examples
John Edgar Wideman
American Writer
What basketball expresses is what jazz expresses. Certain cultural predispositions to make art. All African-American art has a substratum, or baseline, of improvisation and spontaneity. You find that in both basketball and jazz.
Quote examples
T. S. Eliot
American Poet
Poetry may make us from time to time a little more aware of the deeper, unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being, to which we rarely penetrate; for our lives are mostly a constant evasion of ourselves.
Quote examples
P. T. Barnum
American Entertainer
The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick.
Example 1 of 6
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