hypocaust

American  

[hahy-puh-kawst, hip-uh-] / ˈhaɪ pəˌkɔst, ˈhɪp ə- /

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.

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hypocaust British  

/ ˈhaɪpəˌkɔːst /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of hypocaust

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

Example Sentences

The Romans developed the hypocaust method of heating floors and walls thousands of years ago.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2023

The hypocaust was a hot-air furnace built in the basement or cellar of the house and from which the heat was conducted by flues to the bath rooms and other apartments.

From Inventions in the Century by Doolittle, William Henry

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

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 4 by Mabie, Hamilton Wright

The mortar, however, between the stones of the walls of a hypocaust was found by my son to have been penetrated by many worm-burrows.

From The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms, with observations on their habits by Darwin, Charles

Up to the 12th century rooms were warmed entirely by a hypocaust, or with braziers, or by fires on the hearth, the smoke finding its way up to a lantern in the roof.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various