Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “substrate” come from?

Substrate derives from New Latin substratum, from Latin substratus meaning spread or laid under, formed from substerno meaning to spread beneath, combining sub meaning under with the root ster- meaning to spread.

substrate (English): What an enzyme acts upon; A surface on which an...

Definitions

  1. What an enzyme acts upon; A surface on which an...

Ancestry of “substrate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsubstratumA layer that lies underneath another; The...
2New Latinsubstratum—
3Latinsubstratus—
4LatinsubsternoI strew, scatter, spread out or under; I bestrew,...
5Latinsternō—
6Proto-Italicstornō—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanstr̥-n-h₃-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeansterh₃-to spread, extend, stretch out
9Proto-Indo-Europeanster-sterile, infertile

Words derived from “substrate”

  • cosubstrate
  • substratal
  • pseudosubstrate
  • bisubstrate
  • substratist
  • multisubstrate
  • nonsubstrate
  • substrated
  • heterosubstrate
  • substratism
  • substratomaniac
  • substratophile
  • substratophilia
  • substratophobia
  • substratophobe
  • substráit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ster- →