chamberlain

[ cheym-ber-lin ]

/ ˈtʃeɪm bər lɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chamberlain ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an official charged with the management of the living quarters of a sovereign or member of the nobility.

an official who receives rents and revenues, as of a municipal corporation; treasurer.

the high steward or factor of a member of the nobility.

a high official of a royal court.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

chamber-pot, chambered, chambered nautilus, chamberer, chamberhand, chamberlain, chamberlain, joseph, chamberlain, neville, chamberlain, sir austen, chamberlain, wilt, chamberland

Origin of chamberlain

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French, variant of chamberlenc < Frankish *kamerling, equivalent to kamer (< Latin camera room; see chamber) + -ling -ling¹

Related formsun·der·cham·ber·lain, noun

Definition for chamberlain (2 of 2)

Chamberlain

[ cheym-ber-lin ]

/ ˈtʃeɪm bər lɪn /

noun

(Arthur) Neville,1869–1940, British statesman: prime minister 1937–40.

Joseph,1836–1914, British statesman (father of Sir Austen and Neville Chamberlain).

Sir (Joseph) Austen,1863–1937, British statesman: Nobel Peace Prize 1925.

Owen,1920–2006, U.S. physicist: Nobel Prize 1959.

Wilt(on Norman)Wilt the Stilt, 1936–1999, U.S. basketball player.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chamberlain

“DFA is not going to be working for them or trying to save them in their races,” Chamberlain said.
Liberals Split on How to Handle Red State Dems|Patricia Murphy|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
U.S. and Israeli hawks are rushing to call the interim nuclear agreement a capitulation and Obama another Chamberlain.
No, Obama’s Iran Deal Was Not a Munich-Style Surrender|Peter Beinart|November 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But what this show proves is that, even at his most automotive, Chamberlain achieved a surprising range of effects and meanings.
Talking Cars|Blake Gopnik|March 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Conspirator: Lenin in Exile could have been the beginning of a great tragedy, says Chamberlain, if his cause had been a noble one.
The Best of Brit Lit|Peter Stothard|March 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Chamberlain, of course, chose Rome over the object of his heart's ache, forfeiting love and dying a broken man.
The Passion of Mark Sanford|Kathleen Parker|June 27, 2009|DAILY BEAST
At last it happened that the Emperor came upon a book which said this, and he at once sent for his Chamberlain.
Stories to Tell Children|Sara Cone Bryant
Yet they paused when they perceived that the prince wished to speak: a final word to the chamberlain.
Everychild|Louis Dodge
That Boston newspaper, the Traveler, in spreading the Chamberlain unpleasantness, was assiduously biographical.
The Church of St. Bunco|Gordon Clark
Dorset resigned the office of Chamberlain, but not in ill humour, and retired loaded with marks of royal favour.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
He has felt, ever since he knew this fact, like having a clearer right of inheritance in Professor Chamberlain.
The History of Dartmouth College|Baxter Perry Smith

British Dictionary definitions for chamberlain (1 of 2)

chamberlain

/ (ˈtʃeɪmbəlɪn) /

noun

an officer who manages the household of a king

the steward of a nobleman or landowner

the treasurer of a municipal corporation

Derived Formschamberlainship, noun

Word Origin for chamberlain

C13: from Old French chamberlayn, of Frankish origin; related to Old High German chamarling chamberlain, Latin camera chamber

British Dictionary definitions for chamberlain (2 of 2)

Chamberlain

/ (ˈtʃeɪmbəlɪn) /

noun

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)

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

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

Owen. 1920–2006, US physicist, who discovered the antiproton. Nobel prize for physics jointly with Emilio Segré 1959

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chamberlain

chamberlain

early 13c., from Old French chamberlenc "chamberlain, steward, treasurer" (Modern French chambellan), from a Germanic source (perhaps Frankish *kamerling; cf. Old High German chamarling, German Kämmerling), from Latin camera "chamber, room" (see camera) + Germanic diminutive suffix -ling.