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Webster 1913 Edition
Hypocaust
Hyp′o-caust
,Noun.
[L.
hypocaustum
, Gr. [GREEK]; [GREEK] under + [GREEK] to burn: cf. F. hypocauste
.] (Anc. Arch.)
A furnace, esp. one connected with a series of small chambers and flues of tiles or other masonry through which the heat of a fire was distributed to rooms above. This contrivance, first used in bath, was afterwards adopted in private houses.
Webster 1828 Edition
Hypocaust
HYP'OCAUST
,Noun.
1.
Among the Greeks and Romans, a subterraneous place where was a furnace to heat baths.2.
Among the moderns,the place where a fire is kept to warm a stove or a hot-house.