English

Noun

sphaeristerium ‎(plural sphaeristeria)

1. (architecture) A large open space connected with the Ancient Roman thermae, for exercise with balls after the bather had been anointed.

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek σφαιριστήριον ‎(sphairistḗrion, “ball”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /spʰae̯.risˈteː.ri.um/, [spʰae̯.rɪsˈteː.ri.ũ]

Noun

sphaeristērium n ‎(genitive sphaeristēriī); second declension

1. (architecture) In Classic architecture, a large open space connected with the Roman thermae, for exercise with balls after the bather had been anointed; they were also provided in the Roman villas.
2. ballcourt, court

Inflection

Second declension.

References

• sphaeristerium in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• SPHAERISTERIUM in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “sphaeristerium”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• sphaeristerium in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sphaeristerium in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• Sphaeristerium, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 Edition.