sweat hole
A large hole in the ground, heated with a fire, into which a sick person is brought…A large hole in the ground, heated with a fire, into which a sick person is brought wrapped in blankets (once the fire is removed), with a jug of water for making steam, the whole covered by an awning to hold the steam in; an underground sweat lodge.
Meaning
3 sensesA large hole in the ground, heated with a fire, into which a sick person is brought wrapped in blankets (once the fire is removed), with a jug of water for making steam, the whole covered by an awning to hold the steam in; an underground sweat lodge.
An uncomfortably hot enclosed space.
(archaic, nonstandard, rare)An opening in the skin through which sweat is excreted; pore.
Origin
From Middle English swet hole, a partial calque of Old English swātþyrel (“pore”, literallFrom Middle English swet hole, a partial calque of Old English swātþyrel (“pore”, literally “sweat-hole”). Cognate with German Schweißloch (“pore, sweat hole”), Danish swedehul (“pore”), Icelandic svitahola (“pore”).
From sweat + hole.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.