Vestibule
/ˈvɛstɪbjuːl/noun
An antechamber or small entrance hall leading into a larger space.
Did you know?Vestibule comes from Latin *vestibulum*, the entrance space of a house, and may be connected to *Vesta*, the Roman goddess of the hearth, so the word may preserve an ancient idea of sacred domestic threshold power.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wes-
“to dwell, stay, remain”
Latin
Latin
vestibulum
“entrance court or passage of a house”
Late Latin
Latin
vestibulum
“entrance hall, forecourt”
Old French
Old French
vestibule
“entrance hall or antechamber”
Middle English
English
vestibule
“an entrance hall or passage”
Modern English
English
vestibule
“a small entrance hall or antechamber”