presence chamber
1
9.9
- noun
- Archaic
:
salón de audiencia
- Dignitaries were seated in the presence chamber while awaiting an audience with the king.
Examples
-
The queen welcomed her guests in the presence chamber, adorned with elegant tapestries and golden chandeliers.
-
Arthur forced his way past the people in the presence chamber.
Fiction book (1993) -
As the ambassador entered the presence chamber, he felt the weight of tradition and royal decorum.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
An area in a building with walls, a floor, and a ceiling
229
4.0
A private room used by a person for work or rest
45
3.9
A large entrance hall in a building like a hotel or theater where people wait
27
1.0
An area by the main door where people meet or wait
12
6.0
A small entrance hall next to a building's front door where people wait
7
4.6
A large formal room in a palace where a king or queen sits for ceremonies
4
3.2
A room in a house or hotel where visitors wait and the host meets them
4
2.8
A large room just inside the main door where people enter and wait
A large main room in an old house or castle used for gatherings and ceremonies
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'presence' (the state of being present) + 'chamber' (a room) yields a room associated with someone's presence, i.e. where a high‑ranked person receives others. While somewhat formal or historical in register, the meaning is predictable from the constituents and therefore accessible to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Presence chamber comes from old royal houses where the presence (the ruler being there) was shown in a special chamber (room) for meeting people. So, the name means 'a room where a monarch or an important person receives guests'.