ˈsweat-house
1. A hut or other structure in which hot-air or vapour baths are taken, among the N. American Indians and other peoples.
| 1750 C. Gist Jrnls. (1893) 33, I..sweated myself according to the Indian Custom in a Sweat-house. 1877 G. Gibbs Tribes Washington 208 Their sweat-houses are partially excavated in the ground, just large enough to contain the body of one person. 1898 J. Heron Celtic Church Irel. i. ii. 39 Perhaps the most singular of primitive Irish structures is the Teach-an-alais, or ‘sweat-house’. |
2. Tanning. A building in which hides are sweated: see sweat v. 13.
3. (See quot.) Cf. sweat-box (c) s.v. sweat n. 11. rare.
| 1882 Harper's Mag. Nov. 872/2 The grapes for raisin⁓making..are removed to an airy building known as a ‘sweat-house’, where they remain possibly a month, till the last vestiges of moisture are extracted. |