Both Uses of
strata
in
The Mill on the Floss
- One would need to be learned in the fashions of those times to know how far in the rear of them Mrs. Glegg's slate-colored silk gown must have been; but from certain constellations of small yellow spots upon it, and a mouldy odor about it suggestive of a damp clothes-chest, it was probable that it belonged to a stratum of garments just old enough to have come recently into wear.†
Chpt 1.7editor's notes: Strata, the plural form of this word is used much more commonly than the singular form. Many Latin words that end in "um" are made plural by changing the "um" to "a"--such as stratum to strata, bacterium to bacteria, and millennium to millennia. In modern writing, changing the "um" to "ums" is also accepted for many Latin words ending in um, but not for any of those listed above.
- This was part of Bessy's weakness that stirred Mrs. Glegg's sisterly compassion: Bessy went far too well dressed, considering; and she was too proud to dress her child in the good clothing her sister Glegg gave her from the primeval strata of her wardrobe; it was a sin and a shame to buy anything to dress that child, if it wasn't a pair of shoes.
Chpt 1.7 *strata = layers
Definition:
layers
or:
levels, classes, or groups into which people or other things are divided
or:
levels, classes, or groups into which people or other things are divided