ante-camera

• anti-camera

From Middle French anticamera and its etymon Italian anticamera, with substitution of ante-, originally after Spanish antecámara, itself after Italian.^[1]

ante-camera (plural ante-cameras)

1. An antechamber, specifically one where visitors wait before being given audience with an influential person such as a pope or monarch.
   • 1632, [Juan de Santa María], translated by I. M. [i.e., James Mabbe], “Of the Repartment and Diuision Which Is to Be Vsed in the Conferring of Offices; […]”, in Policie Vnueiled: Wherein May Be Learned, the Order of True Policie in Kingdomes, and Common-wealths: […], London: […] Thomas Harper for Richard Collins, →OCLC, page 219:

     As it hapned to that wiſe Philoſopher who being clad in a meane but honeſt habit, preſſed amongſt the rest to the Kings Ante-camera, or with-drawing Chamber, where hee vſed to giue Audience, hauing very neceſſary occaſion to ſpeake vnto him.

   • 1805, [Friedrich] Schiller, anonymous translator, The Piccolomini’s: A Drama, […], London: Albion Press: […] J. Cundee, […] sold by C. Chapple, […], →OCLC, act I, scene ii, page 10:

     Forget I never can, to my last hour, / Sev’n years ago, when ordered to Vienna, to obtain / Remounts for our brave army, / How, from one Ante-Camera, away / To another I was shov’d; suffer’d to stand / Whole hours under the arch, / As though I came to beg my pension; / At last a Capuchin was sent me, / I thought ’twas for my sins.

   • 1886, William Lockhart, “[Antonio] Rosmini’s Diplomatic Mission. (a.d. 1849.) The Last Days at Gaeta.”, in Life of Antonio Rosmini Serbati, Founder of the Institute of Charity, 2nd edition, volume II, London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 6–7:

     ‘The orders are that no one enters the ante-camera this morning.’ […] [Giacomo] Antonelli made various difficulties about an audience, so that Rosmini, displeased at the petty pretexts of the Cardinal, said frankly that if he was to be chased out of Gaeta without an audience of the Pope, he should consider it an atrocious injury. This somewhat mollified the Cardinal, who at last said that he would introduce him to an audience. He went to the Pope’s chamber, and was absent a good half hour, Rosmini waiting in the ante-camera.