| 释义 |
cham·ber
I. \ˈchāmbə(r)\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English chambre, from Old French, from Late Latin camera, from Latin, arched roof, from Greek kamara vault; akin to Latin camur curved, Avestan kamarā girdle
1. : a room usually in a house and typically with some special feature or distinguishing characteristic:
a. : a private room: as
(1) : bedroom
(2) : a room situated above the ground floor of a house
b. chiefly Britain : a suite of rooms : apartment — used in plural
< he lived in chambers which had once belonged to his deceased partner — Charles Dickens >
c. South : a ground-floor sitting room usually furnished with a bed
d. chiefly New England : a storage room on an upper floor of a house or barn
e. : the upper level of the inner stage of an Elizabethan playhouse typically used to represent a room of intimate or domestic character — compare study
2. : an enclosed or compartmented space within the body of an animal
< anterior and posterior chambers of the eye >
3. : an often large room devoted to some special or unusual purpose
< the reception hall, a magnificent chamber two stories high … executed in a manner that could be called palatial — Lewis Mumford >
a. : a hall for the meetings of a deliberative, legislative, or judicial body or assembly
< senate chamber >
< council chamber >
b. : a chamberlain's office : a treasury or room where government moneys are received and kept
c. : a room to which a judge retires for consultation (as with opposing counsel) or for official proceedings that may be conducted out of court — usually used in plural
< Judge Winters reentered the courtroom from his chambers — Erle Stanley Gardner >
d. : the reception room of a person of high rank or authority
< the king's audience chamber >
4.
a. : a legislative or judicial body; especially : either of the houses of a bicameral legislature
b. : a voluntary board or council (as for some business purpose)
5.
a. obsolete : a detached plug containing the charge inserted at the breech of heavy firearms
b. obsolete : a short cannon that stood on its breech and that was used for celebrations and in the theater
c. : the part of the bore of a gun that holds the charge — see cannon illustration
d. : the part of a firearm tooled to receive the cartridge: as
(1) : any of the barrels containing the cartridge in an old revolver
(2) : a compartment in the cartridge cylinder of a revolver
6. : an enclosed or compartmented space designed for some special purpose
< a dyeing chamber >
< a gear chamber >
7. : a canal lock
8. : chamber pot
• chambered adjective
II. transitive verb
(chambered ; chambered ; chambering \-b(ə)riŋ\ ; chambers)
Etymology: Middle English chambren, from chambre, n.
1. : to place in or as if in a chamber : shelter, house, confine
< chambered in a narrow cave >
2. : to furnish with a chamber
< chambered corridors >
3. : to serve as a chamber for; especially : to accommodate in the chamber of a firearm
< a rifle that will chamber short, long, or long-rifle cartridges >
4. : to enlarge the bottom of (a drill hole) by one or more light preliminary shots so that a sufficient blasting charge may be loaded for the final shot
III. adjective
Etymology: chamber (I)
1. : conducted with or marked by privacy or secrecy
< personal chamber studies >
< the king's chamber council >
2. : intended for performance by a few musicians for a small audience : intimate
< chamber works >
< chamber opera > |