chamberlain
noun
an official charged with the management of the living quarters of a sovereign or member of the nobility.
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chamberlain
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Chamberlain
Chamberlainnoun(Arthur) Neville, 1869–1940, British statesman: prime minister 1937–40.
chamberlain
1 American
[chaym-ber-lin]
/ ˈtʃeɪm bər lɪn /
noun
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chamberlains
plural
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an official charged with the management of the living quarters of a sovereign or member of the nobility.
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an official who receives rents and revenues, as of a municipal corporation; treasurer.
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the high steward or factor of a member of the nobility.
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a high official of a royal court.
Chamberlain
2
American
[chaym-ber-lin]
/ ˈtʃeɪm bər lɪn /
noun
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(Arthur) Neville, 1869–1940, British statesman: prime minister 1937–40.
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Joseph, 1836–1914, British statesman (father of Sir Austen and Neville Chamberlain).
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Sir (Joseph) Austen, 1863–1937, British statesman: Nobel Peace Prize 1925.
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Owen, 1920–2006, U.S. physicist: Nobel Prize 1959.
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Wilt(on Norman) Wilt the Stilt, 1936–1999, U.S. basketball player.
Chamberlain
1
British
/ ˈtʃeɪmbəlɪn /
noun
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Sir ( Joseph ) Austen. 1863–1937, British Conservative statesman; foreign secretary (1924–29); awarded a Nobel peace prize for his negotiation of the Locarno Pact (1925)
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his father, Joseph. 1836–1914, British statesman; originally a Liberal, he resigned in 1886 over Home Rule for Ireland and became leader of the Liberal Unionists; a leading advocate of preferential trading agreements with members of the British Empire
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his son, ( Arthur ) Neville. 1869–1940, British Conservative statesman; prime minister (1937–40): pursued a policy of appeasement towards Germany; following the German invasion of Poland, he declared war on Germany on Sept 3, 1939
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Owen. 1920–2006, US physicist, who discovered the antiproton. Nobel prize for physics jointly with Emilio Segré 1959
chamberlain
2
British
/ ˈtʃeɪmbəlɪn /
noun
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an officer who manages the household of a king
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the steward of a nobleman or landowner
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the treasurer of a municipal corporation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chamberlain
1175–1225; Middle English < Old French, variant of chamberlenc < Frankish *kamerling, equivalent to kamer (< Latin camera room; see chamber) + -ling -ling 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After the death of a reigning pope, the person in charge of ordinary affairs at the Vatican until the election of a new pope is the camerlengo, or chamberlain.
From Reuters ● Dec. 30, 2022
This alienated his family members, who grew resentful of the power of Askia’s head chamberlain, Ali Fulan.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
During that period, known as the “sede vacante,” or “empty See,” the camerlengo, or chamberlain, runs the administration and finances of the Holy See.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021
At the sound of a gong, a chamberlain and a lady-in-waiting opened the curtains, revealing the emperor and empress.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2019
I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
While the final recipient, 26-year-old Chamberlain Harris, officially serves as the president's executive assistant.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
A letter issued by the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the Royal Household, said that following the couple's relocation there had been "a number of requests for guidance".
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
Portfolio companies like Chamberlain pay for Ode’s services through a commercial consulting or service agreement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Chamberlain had already been working with Fractional AI since late last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Chamberlain did not have to spread the word.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
Rather than handing her children over to court chamberlains to raise, she cared for them herself.
From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2021
The few other people in the room were members of the imperial family, court chamberlains, ladies-in-waiting, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, leaders of the two houses of Parliament and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2019
This is a man in mid-thought, quick with watchful intelligence, on equal terms with the painter; indeed, they were both chamberlains at the Spanish court.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 3, 2016
The chamberlains ignore the argument that such public frenzy might be the result of the rarity of the Emperor's appearances.
From Time Magazine Archive
Two chamberlains prepared the table; the major-domo came to fetch the dinner in the court.
From The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand VII. by Juan Antonio Llorente
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
