What is "chamber"

Chamber \Cham"ber\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Chambered; p. pr. & vb. n. Chambering.]

1. To reside in or occupy a chamber or chambers.

2. To be lascivious. [Obs.]

Chamber \Cham"ber\, v. t.

1. To shut up, as in a chamber.
   --Shak.

2. To furnish with a chamber; as, to chamber a gun.

Chamber \Cham"ber\, n. [F. chambre, fr. L. camera vault, arched roof, in LL. chamber, fr. Gr. ? anything with a vaulted roof or arched covering; cf. Skr. kmar to be crooked. Cf. Camber, Camera, Comrade.]

1. A retired room, esp. an upper room used for sleeping; a bedroom; as, the house had four chambers.

2. pl. Apartments in a lodging house. ``A bachelor's life in chambers.''
   --Thackeray.

3. A hall, as where a king gives audience, or a deliberative body or assembly meets; as, presence chamber; senate chamber.

4. A legislative or judicial body; an assembly; a society or association; as, the Chamber of Deputies; the Chamber of Commerce.

5. A compartment or cell; an inclosed space or cavity; as, the chamber of a canal lock; the chamber of a furnace; the chamber of the eye.

6. pl. (Law.) A room or rooms where a lawyer transacts business; a room or rooms where a judge transacts such official business as may be done out of court.

7. A chamber pot. [Colloq.]

8. (Mil.)

   1. That part of the bore of a piece of ordnance which holds the charge, esp. when of different diameter from the rest of the bore; -- formerly, in guns, made smaller than the bore, but now larger, esp. in breech-loading guns.

   2. A cavity in a mine, usually of a cubical form, to contain the powder.

   3. A short piece of ordnance or cannon, which stood on its breech, without any carriage, formerly used chiefly for rejoicings and theatrical cannonades.

      Air chamber. See Air chamber, in the Vocabulary.

      Chamber of commerce, a board or association to protect the interests of commerce, chosen from among the merchants and traders of a city.

      Chamber council, a secret council.
      --Shak.

      Chamber counsel or Chamber counselor, a counselor who gives his opinion in private, or at his chambers, but does not advocate causes in court.

      Chamber fellow, a chamber companion; a roommate; a chum.

      Chamber hangings, tapestry or hangings for a chamber.

      Chamber lye, urine.
      --Shak.

      Chamber music, vocal or instrumental music adapted to performance in a chamber or small apartment or audience room, instead of a theater, concert hall, or church.

      Chamber practice (Law.), the practice of counselors at law, who give their opinions in private, but do not appear in court.

      To sit at chambers, to do business in chambers, as a judge.

c.1200, "room," usually a private one, from Old French chambre "room, chamber, apartment," also used in combinations to form words for "latrine, privy" (11c.), from Late Latin camera "a chamber, room" (see camera). In anatomy from late 14c.; of machinery from 1769. Gunnery sense is from 1620s. Meaning "legislative body" is from c.1400. Chamber music (1789) was that meant to be performed in private rooms instead of public halls.

late 14c., "to restrain," also "to furnish with a chamber" (inplied in chambered, from chamber (n.). Related: Chambering.

n. 1 A room, especially one used primarily for sleeping; bedroom, sleeping room. 2 An enclosed space. 3 (context firearms English) The portion of the weapon that holds the ammunition round immediately prior to (and during initiation of) its discharge; each of the cylindrical compartments of a revolver that can hold a bullet 4 One of the legislative bodies in a government where multiple such bodies exist, or a single such body in comparison to others. 5 A law office in a building housing several such offices, typically the office of a barrister in the United Kingdom or in the imagination of an African scammer. 6 (context dated in the plural English) Apartments in a lodging house. 7 (context obsolete English) A chamber pot. 8 (context historical English) A short piece of ordnance or cannon which stood on its breech without any carriage, formerly used chiefly for celebrations and theatrical cannonades. vb. 1 To enclose in a room. 2 To reside in or occupy a chamber or chambers. 3 To place in a chamber, as a round of ammunition. 4 To create or modify a gun to be a specific caliber. 5 In martial arts, to prepare an offensive, defensive, or counteroffensive action by drawing a limb or weapon to a position where it may be charged with kinetic energy. 6 (context obsolete English) To be lascivious.

1. n. a natural or artificial enclosed space

2. an enclosed volume (as the aqueous chamber of the eyeball or the chambers of the heart)

3. a room where a judge transacts business

4. a deliberative or legislative or administrative or judicial assembly; "the upper chamber is the senate"

5. a room used primarily for sleeping [syn: bedroom, sleeping room, bedchamber]

v. place in a chamber

Chamber, chambers or the chamber may refer to:

In firearms, the chamber is the portion of the barrel or firing cylinder in which the cartridge is inserted prior to being fired. Rifles and pistols generally have a single chamber in their barrels, while revolvers have multiple chambers in their cylinders and no chamber in their barrel. Thus rifles and pistols can usually be fired even with a detached magazine, while a revolver cannot be fired with its cylinder swung out.

The act of chambering a cartridge means the insertion of a round into the chamber, either manually or through the action of the weapon, e.g., pump-action, lever-action, bolt action, or automatic action generally in anticipation of firing the weapon, without need to 'load' the weapon upon decision to use it (reducing the number of actions needed to discharge).

In firearms design or modification, "chambering" is fitting a weapon for a particular caliber or round, so a Colt Model 1911 is chambered for .45 ACP or .38 Super, or re-chambered for .38/.45 Clerke.

Jonothon "Jono" Evan Starsmore, better known as Chamber or Decibel, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually associated with the X-Men and the New Warriors.

A British mutant, Jono possessed the ability to cast energy blasts from his chest. He had limited control of his power and destroyed much of his chest and lower face when his powers emerged. Recently, he lost his powers on 'M Day' and now uses technology to give himself sonic based abilities.

Jono was a member of the X-Men's junior team Generation X, although he was sullen and moody and had difficulty bonding with teammates. He has since been offered a permanent position in the X-Men's teaching staff.