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; 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 dwellers had both summer and winter apartments; and when the cold weather arrived the hypocaust furnaces were lighted, and the family adjourned to their winter quarters.

From English Villages by Ditchfield, P. H. (Peter Hampson)

The great fireplaces, one for every hypocaust, built in arches under the outer walls of the villa, were approached from the outside by passages of rough masonry.

From Nicanor - Teller of Tales A Story of Roman Britain by Kinney, Margaret West

From them the hot air was carried back through the hypocaust and led to the rooms above by means of an ingenious system of flue tiles.

From Nicanor - Teller of Tales A Story of Roman Britain by Kinney, Margaret West

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