hypogeum

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

/ ˌhaɪ pəˈdʒi əm, ˌhɪp ə- /

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.

Nearby words

hypogenetic, hypogenic, hypogenitalism, hypogenous, hypogeous, hypogeum, hypogeusia, hypoglossal, hypoglossal canal, hypoglossal nerve, hypoglossal nucleus

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hypogeum

In two of the largest chambers in the hypogeum the roof and walls are still decorated with designs in red paint.
Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders|T. Eric Peet
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
That moment an old man, wearing a hooded mantle but with a bare head, issued from the hypogeum.
Quo Vadis|Henryk Sienkiewicz
It is in this room that the remarkable nature of the work in the hypogeum is most apparent.
Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders|T. Eric Peet

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

British Dictionary definitions for hypogeum

hypogeum

/ (ˌhaɪpəˈdʒiːəm) /

noun plural -gea (-ˈdʒiːə)

an underground vault, esp one used for burials

Word Origin for 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