stratum

noun

1. 1

   an abstract place usually conceived as having depth

   a good actor communicates on several levels

   a simile has at least two layers of meaning

2. 2

   people having the same social, economic, or educational status

   the working class

   an emerging professional class

3. 3

   one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock)