substratum

Forms

substrātum n (genitive substrātī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin substernō (“to spread underneath”), used as a noun in the neuter of its past participle.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD)^[3] uses it of colour, for an underlying layer or background.^[1][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is rare, meaning an underlying layer or background.^[1] In Medieval Latin it meant litter or bedding for a horse, the same as substernium, in a charter of Saint-Remi at Reims.^[5] In British Medieval Latin the past participle was used as a noun for an underlay, and as an adjective, especially in philosophy, for what underlies, as when Roger Bacon calls matter what underlies in a genus.^[6] Modern Latin used substratum in theology and metaphysics, and English took it over in the 1630s for “that which is laid or spread under”.^[2]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of an underlying layer of colour.^[1][4][3]
• 1630s – Borrowed into English as substratum from Modern Latin, first in theology and metaphysics.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An underlying layer, background (of colour).^[1][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) Litter or bedding for a horse.^[5]
3. (Medieval Latin) An underlay, that which underlies.^[6]

Related words

• English substratum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
6. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press