Room
/ruːm/noun
A part of a building enclosed by walls, floor, and ceiling; space available for a purpose.
Did you know?The English word room comes from a Germanic root meaning “space” or “cleared area,” and its deeper linguistic cousins also survive in words like “roomy” and “roommate,” not in any occult sense but as a plain old ancient idea of making space.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*reie-
“to stretch, extend, make room”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*rūmaz
“space, room, wide open area”
Old English
OE
rūm
“space, freedom, opportunity, ample”
Middle English
ME
room
“space, area, accommodation”
Modern English
English
room
“an enclosed part of a building or available space”