Stillroom

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A room in a historic country house where preserves, medicinal remedies and cordials were prepared and stored
2. The storeroom of an old manor or estate where household preserves, distilled waters and home remedies were made
3. A former household workroom, typically in a large house, used for making jams, medicines and distilled liquids

Etymology: A stillroom was a room in a great house, usually run by the lady of the house or a housekeeper, where distilling was done: flowers, herbs and fruit were turned into waters, cordials, perfumes and medicines in copper stills. The term dates to the late 16th century, and for a long time it was a point of pride for gentlewomen to show skill there, since home remedies and preserves were part of running a household. The compound is transparent: "still" in the sense of an apparatus for distilling (from Latin "stillare", to drip), plus "room". "Still" in that sense was borrowed from Latin for dripping, and the verb "distil" has the same root. The distilling sense is older than the modern meaning of "still" as "motionless," which comes from a different source.

Synonyms: pantry, still room