Literary notes about Layer (AI summary)
The word “layer” in literature is used both as a precise descriptor of tangible, physical strata and as a powerful metaphor for accumulation and complexity. In scientific or anatomical texts, it describes specific partitions—for example, the epidermal cell-layer ([1]), the cambium layer in trees ([2]), or even layers of rock and sediment ([3], [4]). Meanwhile, in more figurative contexts the term evokes images of richness and buildup, such as the playful imagery of layered cakes ([5], [6], [7]) or the metaphorical deposition of time, memory, and experience—as seen in references to layers of human history and emotion ([8], [9], [10], [11]). This dual usage illustrates how “layer” bridges the gap between the concrete and the abstract, deepening both descriptive and symbolic narratives in literature.
- The outer covering is the simple cell-layer of the epidermis ( E ).
— from Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie - Theoretically curly grain in walnut or any other tree is related to the nature of the growth of the cambium layer.
— from Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 44th Annual Meeting - Below this were found chipped flints, an adze of melaphyre, and a layer of boulders, sand, and clay, brought down by the ice from the higher valley.
— from English Villages by P. H. Ditchfield - The floor of the cellar was covered with a layer of concrete, then with two coats of cement, another layer of concrete and a coat of bitumen.
— from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux - Or perhaps all the dishes hold cake; little fancy cakes for instance, and pastries and slices of layer cakes.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - I dreamed last night that I was chased all around by a fearful goblin with a big layer cake for a head.”
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - Two cold plates should contain cookies or fancy cakes, and perhaps a layer cake.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - Each accursed race has deposited its layer, each suffering has dropped its stone there, each heart has contributed its pebble.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - Each minute is an inexorable layer-out of the dead.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - Each wave of time contributes its alluvium, each race deposits its layer on the monument, each individual brings his stone.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo - He uncovered layer on layer of hidden weariness.
— from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
