Look up: hypocaust

1. 
   Hypocaust
   Roman central heating It works by hot air flowing through gaps between walls and flooring
   Found on http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/glos
   
   
2. 
   hypocaust
   Roman method of central heating: The floor was raised, usually on pilae, and flue-tiles acting as 'chimneys' were built in the thickness of the walls. The draught created by these flues enabled hot air to be drawn from the stoke-hole on the right in fig 4), where brushwood or other fuel was burnt, to circulate under the floor, and to escape up the wall-flues to the air outside. In the channelled type of hypocaust, the hot air circulated not around pilae but through narrow channels built under the floor
   Found on http://www.digital-documents.co.uk/archi
   
   
3. 
   hypocaust
   Floor raised on tile piers, heated by hot air circulating beneath it. It was first used by the Romans for baths about 100 BC, and was later introduced to private houses. Hypocausts were a common...
   Found on http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/
   
   
4. 
   hypocaust
   The Roman used the hypocaust system as a form of central heating for heating rooms and also the water in bath houses (thermae). It is thought to have been developed in the 1st century BC by Gaius Sergius Orata. The underfloor heating system had hot air from basement fires flowing between the brick tile (bessales and bipedales) or concrete columns (...
   Found on http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/temetfutue/gl
   
   
5. 
   Hypocaust
   A raised floor in Roman buildings. This was supported by piled pieces of tile or stone columns. It allowed the circulation of air, (often warmed in the case of bath-houses and villas), throughout the building.
   Found on http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/k
   
   
6. 
   Hypocaust
   Hyp'o·caust noun [ Latin hypocaustum , Greek ...; ... under + ... to burn: confer French 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.
   Found on http://www.encyclo.co.uk/webster/H/82
   
   
7. 
   Hypocaust
   A `hypocaust` is an ancient Roman system of central heating. The word literally means `heat from below`, from the Greek `hypo` meaning below or underneath, and `kaiein`, to burn or light a fire. They are traditionally considered to have been invented by Sergius Orata, though this is not fully confirmed. Hypocausts were used for heating public baths and private houses. The floor was raised off the ground by pillars, called pilae stacks, and spac...
   Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocaust
   
   
8. 
   Hypocaust
   • (n.) 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.
   Found on http://thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning
   
   
9. 
   hypocaust
   in building construction, open space below a floor that is heated by gases from a fire or furnace below and that allows the passage of hot air to ... [2 related articles]
   Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/h/92
   
   
10. 
    hypocaust
    hypocaust In architecture, an open space below a floor to allow the passage of hot air and smoke in order to heat the room above. This type of heating was developed to a high degree by the Romans who used it not only in the warm and hot rooms of the baths, but also almost universally in private houses in the northern provinces. Many examples of such hypo...
    Found on http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/inf
    
    
11. 
    hypocaust
    hypocaust (hī'pukôst) : see heating.
    Found on http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A09145