1. A room in a monastery or convent heated by a fireplace, used as a warming room for the community.
Usage: archaic; historical; chiefly British

1. Relating to or producing heat; warming.
Usage: archaic; rare

Examples

• The monks gathered in the calefactory during the cold winter months.
• The calefactory was one of the few warm spaces in the medieval monastery.
• Calefactory devices were essential in large religious communities.
• The abbess allowed the elderly sisters to spend extra time in the calefactory.
• Medieval monasteries typically included a calefactory for communal warmth.