Interstratifying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of layering or alternating different geological strata within a formation
2. The act of inserting layers of varying materials or elements in a specific arrangement
3. Describing the arrangement of various deposits or substances in a manner that interlocks or overlaps

Etymology: "Interstratifying" is the present participle of "interstratify," a verb built from the prefix "inter-" ("between" or "among") and "stratify," which itself comes from "stratum," the Latin word for a layer or covering, related to "sternere," to spread out or lay down. The sense is literal: to place layers alternately, one kind between another, so that each stratum sits in the gap left by the last. The base "stratify" carries the same idea into geology and the social sciences, where rock layers and social classes were both described as strata. "Interstratify" adds the notion of mixing: rather than stacking one layer on top of another, the layers are interleaved. That is why the term is used in geology and mineralogy for crystal structures or rock sequences in which two different kinds of layer alternate, and in clay science for minerals whose layers are regularly or irregularly mixed.