antechamber

• antichamber

From Middle French antichambre, with remodelling after ante- and chamber.^[1] By surface analysis, ante- +‎ chamber.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæn.tiˌt͡ʃeɪm.bə/, /ˈæn.tɪˌt͡ʃeɪm.bə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæn.tiˌt͡ʃeɪm.bɚ/

• Audio (US):

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antechamber (plural antechambers)

2. A small room used as an entryway or reception area to a larger room.

   Synonyms: anteroom, foreroom

   • 1981, Lawrence Kasdan, Raiders of the Lost Ark, spoken by Belloq:

     Who knows. Perhaps the Ark is still waiting in some antechamber for us to discover. Perhaps there's some vital bit of evidence which eludes us. Perhaps…

   • 2005 July 16, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter; 6), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

     "This is merely the antechamber, the entrance hall," said Dumbledore after a moment or two.

3. (botany) The space immediately below the guard cells of a stoma.