Chamber

7 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Chamber \Cham"ber\, n. [F. chambre, fr. L. camera vault, arched
     roof, in LL. chamber, fr. Gr. ? anything with a vaulted roof
     or arched covering; cf. Skr. kmar to be crooked. Cf.
     {Camber}, {Camera}, {Comrade}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A retired room, esp. an upper room used for sleeping; a


        bedroom; as, the house had four chambers.
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     2. pl. Apartments in a lodging house. "A bachelor's life in
        chambers." --Thackeray.
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     3. A hall, as where a king gives audience, or a deliberative
        body or assembly meets; as, presence chamber; senate
        chamber.
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     4. A legislative or judicial body; an assembly; a society or
        association; as, the Chamber of Deputies; the Chamber of
        Commerce.
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     5. A compartment or cell; an inclosed space or cavity; as,
        the chamber of a canal lock; the chamber of a furnace; the
        chamber of the eye.
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     6. pl. (Law.) A room or rooms where a lawyer transacts
        business; a room or rooms where a judge transacts such
        official business as may be done out of court.
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     7. A chamber pot. [Colloq.]
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     8. (Mil.)
        (a) That part of the bore of a piece of ordnance which
            holds the charge, esp. when of different diameter from
            the rest of the bore; -- formerly, in guns, made
            smaller than the bore, but now larger, esp. in
            breech-loading guns.
        (b) A cavity in a mine, usually of a cubical form, to
            contain the powder.
        (c) A short piece of ordnance or cannon, which stood on
            its breech, without any carriage, formerly used
            chiefly for rejoicings and theatrical cannonades.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     {Air chamber}. See {Air chamber}, in the Vocabulary.
  
     {Chamber of commerce}, a board or association to protect the
        interests of commerce, chosen from among the merchants and
        traders of a city.
  
     {Chamber council}, a secret council. --Shak.
  
     {Chamber counsel} or {Chamber counselor}, a counselor who
        gives his opinion in private, or at his chambers, but does
        not advocate causes in court.
  
     {Chamber fellow}, a chamber companion; a roommate; a chum.
  
     {Chamber hangings}, tapestry or hangings for a chamber.
  
     {Chamber lye}, urine. --Shak.
  
     {Chamber music}, vocal or instrumental music adapted to
        performance in a chamber or small apartment or audience
        room, instead of a theater, concert hall, or church.
  
     {Chamber practice} (Law.), the practice of counselors at law,
        who give their opinions in private, but do not appear in
        court.
  
     {To sit at chambers}, to do business in chambers, as a judge.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Chamber \Cham"ber\, v. t.
     1. To shut up, as in a chamber. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To furnish with a chamber; as, to chamber a gun.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Chamber \Cham"ber\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Chambered}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Chambering}.]
     1. To reside in or occupy a chamber or chambers.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To be lascivious. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  chamber
       n 1: a natural or artificial enclosed space
       2: an enclosed volume (as the aqueous chamber of the eyeball or
          the chambers of the heart)
       3: a room where a judge transacts business
       4: a deliberative or legislative or administrative or judicial
          assembly; "the upper chamber is the senate"
       5: a room used primarily for sleeping [syn: {bedroom}, {sleeping
          room}, {bedchamber}]
       v : place in a chamber

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  119 Moby Thesaurus words for "chamber":
     British Cabinet, Geiger counter, Sanhedrin, US Cabinet,
     Wilson chamber, advisory body, alpha pulse analyzer, apartment,
     assembly, association, atom counter, ballroom, bedchamber, bedpan,
     bedroom, bench, board, body, body of advisers, booth,
     boron counter, borough council, boudoir, box, brain trust, cabinet,
     camarilla, can, cavity, cell, cellule, chamber pot, chambre,
     chemical closet, chemical toilet, city council, cloud chamber,
     commode, common council, compartment, conference, congress,
     consortium, consultative assembly, cosmic ray counter, council,
     council fire, council of ministers, council of state,
     council of war, counting tube, county council, court, crapper,
     crib, crypt, cubicle, cubiculum, deliberative assembly, diet,
     directory, divan, dormitory, electronic counter, enclosed space,
     expansion chamber, gamma ray counter, grand ballroom, haven,
     heavy particle counter, hold, hole, hollow, house, ion counter,
     ionization chamber, jerry, john, johnny, jordan, judicature,
     judiciary, junta, kitchen cabinet, latrine, legislature, manger,
     niche, nook, nursery, parish council, particle counter, pew,
     piss pot, potty, potty-chair, privy council, reception room, roof,
     room, rotunda, salle, shelter, shield, sleeping room, soviet,
     staff, stall, stool, syndicate, synod, throne, thunder mug, toilet,
     tribunal, tube counter, urinal, vault, water closet
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Chamber
     "on the wall," which the Shunammite prepared for the prophet
     Elisha (2 Kings 4:10), was an upper chamber over the porch
     through the hall toward the street. This was the "guest chamber"
     where entertainments were prepared (Mark 14:14). There were also
     "chambers within chambers" (1 Kings 22:25; 2 Kings 9:2). To
     enter into a chamber is used metaphorically of prayer and
     communion with God (Isa. 26:20). The "chambers of the south"
     (Job 9:9) are probably the constelations of the southern
     hemisphere. The "chambers of imagery", i.e., chambers painted
     with images, as used by Ezekiel (8:12), is an expression
     denoting the vision the prophet had of the abominations
     practised by the Jews in Jerusalem.
     

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  CHAMBER. A room in a house. 
       2. It was formerly hold that no freehold estate could be had in a 
  chamber, but it was afterwards ruled otherwise. When a chamber belongs to 
  one person, and the rest of the house with the land is owned by another the 
  two estates are considered as two separate but adjoining dwelling house's. 
  Co. Litt. 48, b; Bro. Ab. Demand, 20; 4 Mass. 575; 6 N. H. Rep. 555; 9 Pick. 
  R. 297; vide 3 Leon. 210; 3 Watts. R. 243. 
       3. By chamber is also understood the place where an assembly is held; 
  and, by the use of a figure, the assembly itself is called a chamber.