antechamber

/ˈæntiˌtʃeɪmbər/

Other forms: antechambers

An antechamber is an entryway or a small room that leads into a larger one. If you visit a friend who lives in a mansion, her butler may ask you to wait in the antechamber while he summons her.

You're most likely to come across an antechamber in a very grand building or home — in most houses, a similar room would probably be called a "foyer" or a "hall." Sometimes the area where you wait before entering a museum or office is called an antechamber, but it's more often just a "waiting room." Palaces and crypts and pyramids often have antechambers. The word comes from the French antichambre.

Definitions of antechamber

1. noun

   an outer room or waiting area that leads into another room
   synonyms: anteroom, entrance hall, foyer, hall, lobby, vestibule

   types:

   narthex

   a vestibule leading to the nave of a church

   type of:

   room

   an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling