Word of the Day

: November 26, 2008

hypaethral

adjective hye-PEETH-rul

What It Means

1 : having a roofless central space

2 : open to the sky

hypaethral in Context

During our tour of Egypt, we visited the hypaethral temple of Philae, which was dismantled and relocated after the construction of a dam caused its original site to be submersed.

Did You Know?

Ancient Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius used the Latin word "hypaethrus" to describe temples in which the “cella” (the part of the temple housing an image of the deity) was wholly or partially uncovered. “Hypaethrus” is a word sculpted from the Greek prefix "hypo-," meaning "under or beneath," and the Greek word "aithēr," meaning "air or heaven." In the late-18th century, English classicists adopted the remodeled form "hypaethral" in their writings of ancient architecture. Another adjective that they occasionally employed is "cleithral," which designates temples having roofed central spaces. (“Cleithral” comes from "kleithra," the Greek word for "lattice.")