n. A warm room in a Roman baths that was usually heated by a hypocaust
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. In the ancient Roman baths, an apartment heated to a certain temperature to prepare the body for the great heat of the hot and vapor baths, or to serve as a palliative to the cold of the frigidarium; also, the boiler in which the water was heated for the hot bath.
Word Usage
"The Roman-style baths include an apodypterium , or changing room; a tepidarium , or warm room; and a caldarium , or hot room, along with a domed chamber for housing firewood."