hypocaust

[ hahy-puh-kawst, hip-uh- ]

noun

1. a hollow space or system of channels in the floor or walls of some ancient Roman buildings that provided a central heating system by receiving and distributing the heat from a furnace.

hypocaust

/ ˈhaɪpəˌkɔːst /

noun

1. an ancient Roman heating system in which hot air circulated under the floor and between double walls

Word History and Origins

Origin of hypocaust¹

1670–80; < Latin hypocaustum < Greek hypókauston room heated from below, equivalent to hypo- hypo- + kaustón, neuter of kaustós (verbal adjective) heated, burned; caustic

Word History and Origins

Origin of hypocaust¹

C17: from Latin hypocaustum, from Greek hupokauston room heated from below, from hupokaiein to light a fire beneath, from hypo- + kaiein to burn

Example Sentences

It had no cloisters, no hypocaust, no suite or sequence of rooms.

From Project Gutenberg

A large hypocaust is described with 120 columns of bricks, and is thought to have belonged to the public baths.

From Project Gutenberg

Pliny describes a bedchamber in his villa warmed by the hypocaust and the tiles, with narrow openings.

From Project Gutenberg

It has a well-preserved hypocaust, or apparatus for warming the house by hot air.

From Project Gutenberg

In Bridge Street is a hypocaust remaining just where the Romans left it.

From Project Gutenberg