chamberlain

UK: /ˈtʃeɪmbəlɪn/ US: /ˈtʃeɪmbɚlɪn/ ,(chām′bər lin)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

cham•ber•lain /ˈtʃeɪmbɚlɪn/   n. [countable]

1. an official who manages the living quarters of a noble family.
2. a high official of a royal court.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cham•ber•lain  (chām′bər lin), n. 

1. an official charged with the management of the living quarters of a sovereign or member of the nobility.
2. Business an official who receives rents and revenues, as of a municipal corporation;
   treasurer.
3. the high steward or factor of a member of the nobility.
4. a high official of a royal court.

• Latin camera room; see chamber) + -ling -ling¹
• Frankish *kamerling, equivalent. to kamer (
• Old French, variant of chamberlenc
• Middle English 1175–1225

Cham•ber•lain  (chām′bər lin), n. 

1. Biographical (Arthur) Neville, 1869–1940, British statesman: prime minister 1937–40.
2. Biographical Joseph, 1836–1914, British statesman (father of Sir Austen and Neville Chamberlain).
3. Biographical Sir (Joseph) Austen, 1863–1937, British statesman: Nobel peace prize 1925.
4. Biographical Owen, born 1920, U.S. physicist: Nobel prize 1959.
5. Biographical Wilt(on Norman) ("Wilt the Stilt''), born 1936, U.S. basketball player.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

chamberlain / ˈtʃeɪmbəlɪn/ noun

1. an officer who manages the household of a king
2. the steward of a nobleman or landowner
3. the treasurer of a municipal corporation

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French chamberlayn, of Frankish origin; related to Old High German chamarling chamberlain, Latin camera chamber

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Chamberlain / ˈtʃeɪmbəlɪn/ noun

1. Sir (Joseph) Austen. 1863–1937, British Conservative statesman; foreign secretary (1924–29); awarded a Nobel peace prize for his negotiation of the Locarno Pact (1925)
2. his father, Joseph. 1836–1914, British statesman; originally a Liberal, he resigned in 1886 over Home Rule for Ireland and became leader of the Liberal Unionists; a leading advocate of preferential trading agreements with members of the British Empire
3. his son, (Arthur) Neville. 1869–1940, British Conservative statesman; prime minister (1937–40): pursued a policy of appeasement towards Germany; following the German invasion of Poland, he declared war on Germany on Sept 3, 1939
4. Owen. 1920–2006, US physicist, who discovered the antiproton. Nobel prize for physics jointly with Emilio Segré 1959