stratification (English)

Where does "stratification" come from?

The word stratification originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *sterh₃-, meaning 'to spread.' This concept traveled into Latin as 'strātum,' which described a bed covering or blanket, before entering English as 'stratum' to denote layers. By adding the suffix '-ification,' the word evolved to describe the complex process of layering, whether in geology, biology, or social structures.

Full etymology tree

• stratification (English), 'The process leading to the formation or deposition of layers, especially of sedimentary rocks.'
  • derived stratum (English), 'One of several parallel horizontal layers of material arranged one on top of another.'
    • borrowed strātum (Latin), 'a bed-covering, coverlet, quilt, blanket'
      • derived strātus (Latin), 'spread, stretched out, spread out, having been spread out'
        • inherited *strātos (Proto-Italic)
          • inherited *str̥h₃tós (Proto-Indo-European), 'stretched, spread'
            • derived *sterh₃- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to spread, extend, stretch out'
              • derived *ster- (Proto-Indo-European), 'barren, infertile'
      • inherited *stornō (Proto-Italic)
        • inherited *str̥néh₃ti (Proto-Indo-European), 'to strew'
          • derived *sterh₃- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to spread, extend, stretch out'
            • derived *ster- (Proto-Indo-European), 'barren, infertile'
  • suffix -ification (English), 'Forms nouns denoting the act or process whereby a subject becomes something else.'

Direct ancestors

• stratum (English)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris