semisubterranean
1
7.9
- adjective
- /ˌsɛmisaʊbˈtɛrəneɪən/
- A semisubterranean tunnel about three feet high, it slopes upward into a hillside at an angle of twelve degrees and is abutted on each flank by a flagstone walkway.
- a semisubterranean house
Examples
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Many ancient civilizations constructed semisubterranean homes that utilized the earth to provide insulation and stability.
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The archaeologists documented a series of semisubterranean dwellings that had been concealed beneath layers of soil and vegetation.
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According to MacDonald, precontact Iroquoians built steam lodge structures both above ground and as semisubterranean structures.
Academic text (2017) -
For instance, during the Woodland-Mississippian transition, there was a change in house construction, from semisubterranean structures built a few feet below the level of the soil to houses built at ground level and supported by posts sunk into the soil.
Academic text (2006) -
" The reason we can see them so clearly is that these were semisubterranean houses," explains Sliden as she stamps around the perimeter of what would have once been a little thatched wooden hut.
Academic text (2010) -
If a semisubterranean house weakened the barrier between the sand and the surface, Lafferty suggests, it might be more likely to rupture during a quake.
Academic text (2006) -
One unique find was a four-inch-long T-shaped slate knife uncovered by Costopoulos near a semisubterranean dwelling.
Academic text (2010) -
Jondalar was knotting a tie around their rolled-up sleeping furs when she stepped down into the semisubterranean earth lodge.
Fiction book (1990) -
One field season in Kamchatka has revealed semisubterranean houses similar to those found at Kierikki, and a trend from small scattered dwellings to larger, more densely packed clusters.
Academic text (2010) -
The place had such a familiar feeling that she half expected to see the long, semisubterranean earthlodge of the Lion Camp tucked into the side of the slope at the back of a river terrace, with grass growing out of the sides, a rounded top, and the perfectly symmetrical arched entrance that had so surprised her when she first saw it.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
3
7.4
Hidden and not openly shown
1
4.3
Under the ground surface
1
9.6
Found under the ground and out of sight
1
8.8
Existing under the surface of the earth, like pipes or caves
Antonyms
How Buried
Surface Forms
Morphology
semisubterranean = subterranean (transparent) = semi + subterranean
The word is a straightforward prefixation of semi- to subterranean, meaning 'partly subterranean' or 'partly hidden'.
Etymology
Semisubterranean begins with semi- meaning 'partly' and includes sub- 'under' plus terra 'earth', the same root you see in terrain. So, it describes something that is partly under the ground or partly hidden.