noun
- an ancient Roman system of central heating in which hot air from a furnace was circulated through spaces under the floor and within the walls
Usage: historical; architecture
Examples
- The Roman villa featured an elaborate hypocaust system to heat the entire building.
- Archaeologists discovered the remains of a hypocaust beneath the ancient bathhouse.
- The hypocaust allowed wealthy Romans to enjoy warm floors even in winter.
- Hot gases from the furnace traveled through the hypocaust’s network of channels.
- The museum display showed how a hypocaust worked in Roman times.
- Workers tended the fires that powered the hypocaust heating system.