hypogeum

[ hahy-puh-jee-uhm, hip-uh- ]

noun,plural hy·po·ge·a

[hahy-puh-jee-uh, hip-uh-]. /ˌhaɪ pəˈdʒi ə, ˌhɪp ə-/.

Ancient Architecture. the underground part of a building, as a vault.
an underground burial chamber.

Origin of hypogeum

1700–10; <Latin hypogēum<Greek hypógeion underground chamber (neuter of hypógeios underground), equivalent to hypo-hypo- + gê earth + -ion neuter adj. suffix

Words Nearby hypogeum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hypogeum in a sentence

Verily you would think that the painter of these figures of the shades had only just quitted the hypogeum.
Egypt (La Mort De Philae) | Pierre Loti
We shall call attention, however, to a hypogeum at Gizeh, which is numbered 81 in Lepsius's map of that tomb-field.
A History of Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. II (of 2) | Georges Perrot
Violate the tombs, if she has taken refuge in the abodes of death, far within some passage or hypogeum.
The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5 | Theophile Gautier
That moment an old man, wearing a hooded mantle but with a bare head, issued from the hypogeum.
Quo Vadis | Henryk Sienkiewicz
Here and there were separate monuments, and in the centre was the entrance to the hypogeum itself, or crypt.
Quo Vadis | Henryk Sienkiewicz

British Dictionary definitions for hypogeum

hypogeum

/ (ˌhaɪpəˈdʒiːəm) /

nounplural -gea (-ˈdʒiːə)

an underground vault, esp one used for burials

Origin of hypogeum

C18: from Latin, from Greek hupogeion; see hypogeal

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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