stratum
One geological tier
A stratum is a layer or level within a structure.
In geology, strata are horizontal layers of rock or sediment deposited over time: The fossil was found in a stratum dating to the Jurassic period.
The word extends to social hierarchies and other layered systems: different strata of society, every stratum of the organization.
Plural: strata or stratums.
Grouping by shared traits
- casteInherited social division
- statusOne's relative position
- eliteSuperior select group
- nobilityTitled ruling class
bourgeoisie · proletariat · aristocracy · peasantry · gentry · patricians · plebeians · commoners
Particles settling in liquid
- rockSolid earthen material
- fossilPreserved ancient organism
- formationCreation or arrangement
- bedrockSolid stone underground
mineral · shale · limestone · sandstone · basalt · granite · quartzite · outcrop
Outermost tissue layer
- dermisLiving tissue under epidermis
- subcutisDeepest skin layer
- cortexOrgan's external tissue
- epitheliumTissue covering body surfaces
endothelium · lamina · membrane · hypodermis · mucosa · submucosa · serosa
Act of unearthing
- depositPlace for safekeeping
- horizonApparent earth-sky meeting
- artifactHuman-made historical object
- contextCircumstances shaping meaning
dating · dig · sediment · fill · midden · site · sequence · typology
Lowest atmospheric layer
- mesosphereAtmospheric layer, 50-85km up
- thermosphereHigh-temperature atmospheric zone
- exosphereAtmosphere's outermost region
- ozoneTriatomic oxygen allotrope
altitude · ionosphere · air mass · inversion · boundary layer
class
Grouping by shared traits
nobility · bourgeoisie · proletariat · aristocracy · peasantry · gentry · patricians · plebeians · commoners · underclass
sediment
Particles settling in liquid
bedrock · mineral · shale · limestone · sandstone · basalt · granite · quartzite · outcrop · sedimentary
epidermis
Outermost tissue layer
epithelium · endothelium · lamina · membrane · hypodermis · mucosa · submucosa · serosa
excavation
Act of unearthing
context · dating · dig · sediment · fill · midden · site · sequence · typology
troposphere
Lowest atmospheric layer
- mesosphereAtmospheric layer, 50-85km up
- thermosphereHigh-temperature atmospheric zone
- exosphereAtmosphere's outermost region
ozone · altitude · ionosphere · air mass · inversion · boundary layer
- classificationsclassified, hierarchical, class, unclassified, categorical
- earth science referencesgeology, volcano, earthquake, fossil, mineral
- geologybedrock, fault lines, faults, rock, basalt
- hierarchiestier, tiers, level, levels, rank
- hierarchyrank, ranked, authority, command, tiered
- rankingsrankings, first, college rankings, second, third
stratumcolumn
Vertical structural element
pillar · shaft · perpendicular · cross-section · upright
stratumcontinuum
Uninterrupted, gradual sequence
monolith · homogeneity · amalgam · blend · mixture
- stratospheric ozoneOxygen variant blocking ultraviolet
- ocean stratificationSea divided by density
- lake stratificationTemperature-based water layering
- rock strataLayered geological deposits
- geological strataLayered rock beds
- social stratumRanked societal layer
prostrate, stratify, stratus, stratified, strata, stratification, stratosphere, substratum, substrate