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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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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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
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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
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Example Sentences

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

Earlier excavations near Scalford, Leicestershire, found traces of a building with mosaics, wall plaster and a hypocaust heating system.

From BBC

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

Hypocaust, hip′o-kawst, n. among the ancients, a vaulted chamber from which the heat of stoves was distributed to baths or rooms above: now applied to the fireplace of a stove or hothouse.

"He's a powerful and original thinker, and to involve myself in the hypocaust of his imagination is toxic for my own work."

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