sterh₃-mn̥-
“a scattering, strewing”strewn, straw, stratosphere
Nominal of *sterh₃- giving English strewn, straw, related to stratosphere.
Discussion
The Proto-Indo-European form *sterh₃-mn̥- is reconstructed as a nominal derivative meaning "a scattering, something strewn" and belongs to the root *sterh₃- "to strew, to scatter, to spread". The suffix *-mn̥- creates a noun from the verbal root, yielding a term for the product of the scattering action. The laryngeal *h₃ is reflected in certain vowel qualities across the daughter languages.
In Germanic, the root underwent regular sound changes, and the initial *st- cluster was preserved. Old English strēowian "to strew, to scatter" is the ancestor of modern English strew. The related word straw descends from the same root, as straw is literally "that which is strewn" — the cut stalks of grain scattered on floors for bedding, insulation, and cleanliness. This naming pattern (defining the material by its use rather than its nature) is characteristic of agricultural vocabulary in the Indo-European languages.
The word street also descends from this root, via Latin strāta (via) "a paved (strewn) road" — a road surfaced by scattering or laying down stones. Old English strǣt was borrowed from this Latin form, making street an early Latin loanword in English that has been fully naturalised for over a millennium.
Latin sternere "to spread, to strew, to lay flat" is the principal learned reflex, producing English stratum (a layer, something spread), stratify, strategy (originally the deployment — "spreading out" — of troops), prostrate (thrown flat), and construct (to pile together). The geological term stratum, now fundamental to archaeology and geology, perfectly preserves the original Proto-Indo-European image of something spread in layers.
Greek strōnnynai "to spread, to strew" confirms the root in that branch. Sanskrit stṛṇāti "scatters, strews" is a further cognate.
The journey from "scattering straw on a floor" to "geological strata" and "military strategy" traces a characteristic Indo-European path from the farmyard to the abstract.