‖ hypogeum
(hɪpəʊˈdʒiːəm, haɪpəʊ-)
Also -gæum. Pl. hypogea (-ˈdʒiːə).
[L. hypogēum, hypogæum, ad. Gr. ὑπόγειον, ὑπόγαιον neut. sing. of ὑπόγειος underground; see hypogean, and cf. hypogee.]
An underground chamber or vault.
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Hypogæum, a Cellar or Vault arched over head, a Place under Ground. 1850 J. Leitch tr. C. O. Müller's Anc. Art (ed. 2) §177 The painted hypogæa of Etruria. Ibid. §319 The Etruscan hypogea. 1865 J. Fergusson Hist. Archit. i. i. iii. I. 99 The tombs of Beni Hassan..are situated on the eastern side of the Nile, and are almost the only hypogea that are so placed in Egypt. |