earth cellar

cellar

1. A room (or several rooms, or the entire basement floor) that is partially or entirely below grade; relatively cool in the summer and above freezing in the winter; often used as storage space; provides some thermal insulation airspace between the ground or concrete slab and the flooring of the wood floor above.

2. That part of a building having at least half of its clear height below grade. Also see earth cellar, root cellar, storm cellar, basement.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.