'antichamber' ultimately originates from Latin via French. It comes from French 'antechambre', where Latin 'ante' meant 'before' and Latin 'camera' (from Greek 'kamara') meant 'chamber' or 'room'.

'antichamber' changed from Old French 'antechambre' into Middle English forms such as 'antechamber/antechaumber' and eventually became the modern English 'antichamber' (also often spelled 'antechamber').

Initially it meant 'a room before another room' (literally 'before the chamber'); over time the meaning has remained largely the same, now used broadly for small entrance or waiting rooms.