cryptoporticus noun1 •A vaulted arcade or corridor at, or just below, ground level, normally lit by openings in the upper part of the vault; also, a roofed promenade that is enclosed with side walls that have openings or windows instead of columns.The close vvalkes, vvhich vvere called cryptoporticus vvere not of choice but of necessitie, vvhen extremitie of vveather vvould not let them vvalke abroad. — 1581 formscryptoportici · cryptoporticuses