Stratagem, strat′a-jem, n. an artifice, esp. in war: a plan for deceiving an enemy or gaining an advantage: any artifice generally.—adjs. Strateget′ic, -al, Strateg′ic, -al, pertaining to, or done by, strategy.—adv. Strateget′ically.—ns. Strateget′ics, Strat′egy, generalship, or the art of conducting a campaign and manœuvring an army: artifice or finesse generally.—adv. Strateg′ically.—n. Strat′egist, one skilled in strategy. [Fr.,—L. stratagema—Gr. stratēgēma—stratēgos, a general—stratos, an army, agein, to lead.]
Strath, strath, n. in Scotland, an extensive valley through which a river runs. [Gael. srath, a valley—L. strata, a street.]
Strathspey, strath′spā, n. a Scotch dance, allied to and danced alternately with the reel, differing from it in being slower, and abounding in the jerky motion of dotted notes and semiquavers (when the latter precede the former it constitutes the Scotch snap), while the reel is almost entirely in smooth, equal, gliding motion: the music for a strathspey, or its movement. [Strathspey, valley of the Spey.]
Stratify, strat′i-fī, v.t. to form or lay in strata or layers:—pr.p. strat′ifying; pa.t. and pa.p. strat′ifīed.—adj. Stratic′ulate, arranged in thin layers.—n. Stratificā′tion, act of stratifying: state of being stratified: process of being arranged in layers.—adj. Strat′iform, in the form of strata. [Fr. stratifier—L. stratum, facĕre, to make.]
Stratiotes, strat′i-ō-tēz, n. the water-soldier. See under Soldier. [Gr. stratiōtes, a soldier.]
Stratocracy, strā-tok′ra-si, n. military despotism. [Gr. stratos, an army, kratein, to rule.]
Stratography, strā-tog′ra-fi, n. description of an army and whatever pertains to it.—adjs. Stratograph′ic, -al.—adv. Stratograph′ically. [Gr. stratos, an army, graphein, to write.]
Stratum, strā′tum, n. a bed of earth or rock formed by natural causes, and consisting usually of a series of layers: any bed or layer:—pl. Strā′ta.—adj. Strat′iform, formed like strata.—ns. Stratig′rapher, Stratig′raphist, a student of stratigraphical geology.—adjs. Stratigraph′ic, -al, concerned with the relative position of the strata forming the earth's crust.—adv. Stratigraph′ically.—n. Stratig′raphy, the order and position of the stratified groups: the study or description of these, descriptive geology.—adj. Strā′tose, arranged in layers, stratified.—n.pl. Strat′ūla. thin layers in rock-strata. [L. stratum—sternĕre, stratum, to spread out.]
Stratus, strā′tus, n. the fall or night-cloud, the lowest of clouds, a widely-extended horizontal sheet, of varied thickness.—ns. Strā′to-cir′rus, better Cirro-stratus (see Cirrus); Strā′to-cū′mulus, better Cumulo-stratus (see Cumulus). [L. stratus, a coverlet—sternĕre, stratum, to spread.]
Straught, strawt, obsolete pa.t. and pa.p. of stretch.