noun
greenhouse; icehouse; cellar
Refers to a structure or room used for cultivation or storage, such as a greenhouse for plants, an icehouse for preserving ice, or a cellar for storing food or wine. The specific meaning depends on context.
この温室は昔、氷室として使われていた。
This greenhouse was once used as an icehouse.
ワインは地下の室で熟成される。
The wine is aged in an underground cellar.
温室 is the common modern word for 'greenhouse', while 室 is an older or more specialized term that can also refer to icehouses or cellars.
氷室 specifically means 'icehouse' or 'ice cellar', a compound using 室. 室 alone can carry this meaning in context.
The kanji 室 means 'room' or 'chamber'. The reading むろ is a native Japanese word (kun'yomi) that historically referred to a dugout or cellar-like space used for storage or cultivation, later extended to greenhouses and icehouses.