chamberlain (chamber lan)

[Formerly chamber lin, F. camerlingue ), chambers. Specifically-(at) An attendant, sometimes upper chambermaid, or a person discharging duties analo a male, head waiter or go us to those of such attendants. Think'st thou That the bleak air, thy boisterous chamberlain , Will put thy shirt on warm? Shak ., T. of A., iv. 3. I had as lieve the chamberlaine of the White Horse had called me up to bed. Peele, Old Wives' Tale, i. 1. (b) An officer charged with the direction and management of the private apartments of a monarch or nobleman. The lord great chamberlain of Great Britain is the sixth officer of the crown. His functions, always important, have varied in different reigns. The duties which now devolve upon him are the robing and attending on the king at his coronation; the care of the ancient palace of Westminster; the provision of furniture for the houses of Parliament, and for Westminster Hall when used on great occasions and attending upon her their a creation upon bishops when they perform their homage. The office is now jointly held by the families of Cholmondeley and Willoughby de Eresby, and the honors are enjoyed in each alternate reign by each family succe ively. The office of lord chamberlain of the household, generally called simply the lord chamberlain, is quite distinct from that of IMG:content-0133.png:[blocks in formation] Thus,... if we compare Or bito lites with Cyclo clypeus, we recognize the same plan of growth in each, the cham berlets being arranged in concentric rings around the primordial chamber. W. B. Carpenter, Micros., § 461.