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substratum Definition

sub·stra·tum (sub′strāt′əm, -strat′-)

noun pl. -·ta--ə or -·tums

    1. a part, substance, element, etc. which lies beneath and supports another; foundation
    2. any basis or foundation
  2. substrate (senses & )
  3. loosely subsoil
  4. Bot. 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 attributes that inhere in it, etc.
  6. Photog. a thin layer of material on a photographic film or plate serving as a base for the sensitive emulsion
  7. Zool. the ground or other solid material on which an animal moves or is fastened

Etymology: ModL < L, neut. of substratus, pp. of substernere, to strew beneath < sub-, under + sternere, to spread out < IE base *ster- > strew

substratum Synonyms

substratum

n.

footing, base, frame, bed; see foundation 2, layer.

substratum Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • form: The soil and the rocks under it form the non-living substratum for all ecosystem components to exist on.
  • have: It was found to be normal for the type of has substrata that occurs in the district.
  • provide: The marine flora is dominated by seagrass beds providing a substratum for 100 species of zoophytes, juvenile fish and sea snakes.
  • mean: The substratum meant is either the nearest to, or the farthest from, the final state.
  • require: He brings to center stage the question of whether properties require some substratum or bare particular to inhere in or belong to.

Adjective modifier

  • principal: The principal substrata are limestone and freestone of excellent quality; and along the banks of the river, ironstone is found in abundance.
  • hard: The mounds are also unusual in that Lophelia appears to be growing on sand rather than a hard substratum.
  • artificial: The role of biological effects studies and the use of artificial substrata and sediments in marine pollution monitoring is also discussed.
  • rocky: Supralittoral communities of rocky substrata are by far the commonest given that most of the islands ' coastline is of this type.
  • suitable: When it finds a suitable substratum, the adult polyp develops, growing by budding.
  • different: Electric field research, in particular the quantification of fields within different substrata and in situ measurement.

Modifies a noun

  • roughness: The effect of substratum surface roughness on the retention of microorganisms.
  • surface: The effect of substratum surface roughness on the retention of microorganisms.

Noun used with modifier

  • chalk: Thus it is fascinating to note that limestone aquifers are the major exception to crop formations occurring over chalk substrata.
  • gravel: The latter two factors probably have the greatest influence on the organisms that inhabit sand and gravel substrata.

Preposition: of

  • fact: But there must be some substratum of historical fact in such a saying.
  • existence: In the span of twenty minutes he realized what he called the Self, the substratum of existence, which infuses everything.
  • soil: The substratum of the soil is partially transition rock, and greywacke in all its various formations is prevalent.
  • gravel: The soil is generally a black sandy loam, inclining to clay, and having a plentiful substratum of gravel.

Preposition: for

attachment: Prior to research on the mounds in 2000, it was thought that Lophelia required a hard substratum for attachment.