A small room or waiting area that leads to a main or more important room, often used for receiving guests before they enter a larger space.
From French 'antichambre,' from Italian 'anticamera.' The roots are anti- (before) + chamber (room). The term originated in royal palaces and grand houses where visitors waited before being admitted to the presence of important people.
Antechambers were essential to power dynamics in palaces—making someone wait in an antichamber was a calculated way to show who held authority, which is why the word appears so often in royal memoirs and spy novels.
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