substratum
noun
- language that has lower power or prestige than another. Both substratum and superstratum languages influence each other, but in different ways
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /səbˈstrɑ.təm/ / /səbˈstreɪ̯.təm/
noun
Etymology: Learned borrowing from New Latin substrātum, nominalisation of the neuter of Latin substrātus, perfect passive participle of substernō. By surface analysis, sub- + stratum.
- A layer that lies underneath another.
- The underlying cause or basis of something.
“However exaggerated an estimate this might be, the substratum of truth was solid and auriferous enough to dazzle the imagination.”
- A substrate.