Stratus
/ˈstrætəs/noun
A low, uniform layer of cloud covering much or all of the sky.
Did you know?The cloud name comes from Latin stratus, the past participle of sternere, meaning “to spread out” or “to lay low,” the same root behind words tied to laying, stretching, and spreading.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*streh₁-
“to spread, stretch out”
Latin
Latin
sternere
“to spread out, lay flat”
Latin
Latin
stratus
“spread out; laid low”
Late Latin
Latin
stratus
“a layer or covering”
Modern English
English
stratus
“a low cloud layer”