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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Chamber

Cham′ber (chām′bẽr), n. [F. chambre, fr. L. camera vault, arched roof, in LL. chamber, fr. Gr. καμάρα anything with a vaulted roof or arched covering; cf. Skr. kmar to be crooked. Cf. Camber, Camera, Comrade.]

1. A retired room, esp. an upper room used for sleeping; a bedroom; as, the house had four chambers.

2. pl. Apartments in a lodging house. "A bachelor's life in chambers." Thackeray.

3. A hall, as where a king gives audience, or a deliberative body or assembly meets; as, presence chamber; senate chamber.

4. A legislative or judicial body; an assembly; a society or association; as, the Chamber of Deputies; the Chamber of Commerce.

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.

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.

7. A chamber pot. [Colloq.]

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.

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 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.

Cham′ber (chām′bẽr), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Chambered; p. pr. & vb. n. Chambering.] 1. To reside in or occupy a chamber or chambers.

2. To be lascivious. [Obs.]

Cham′ber, v. t. 1. To shut up, as in a chamber. Shak.

2. To furnish with a chamber; as, to chamber a gun.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.