Bedchambers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A private room, typically used for sleeping or resting, within a residence
2. A designated area within a dwelling, often lavishly decorated, where one sleeps and engages in intimate activities
3. An enclosed space intended for personal relaxation and repose, commonly featuring a bed and related furnishings

Etymology: "Bedchambers" is the plural of "bedchamber," which passed into English from Middle English "bedchambre" and "bedchaumbre." Its parts are plain: "bed," and "chamber," a word that came into English through Old French "chambre" from Latin "camera," meaning a room or vault. So the compound simply means a chamber set aside for the bed. The chamber half carries more history than the bed. Latin "camera" was itself borrowed from Greek "kamara," meaning a vaulted room, and over centuries the word narrowed from any room to a private or formal one. That narrowing explains why a bedchamber, with its sense of a private, sleeping-and-resting room, sits naturally in a residence, while "chamber" alone has also come to mean a legislative body or a hollow organ of the body.

Synonyms: bedrooms, sleeping quarters, chambers