An antechamber is a small room you pass through before you reach the main room — often a waiting room just outside a more important space. Palaces, courts, and grand offices had them: you sit or stand there until you are called in.

An antechamber is a small room you pass through before you reach the main room是你到達主要房間之前會先經過的一個小房間──often a waiting room just outside a more important space常常就是某個更重要空間外面的等候室。Palaces, courts, and grand offices had them宮殿、法院和氣派的辦公室都有這種房間：you sit or stand there until you are called in你會在那裡坐著或站著，直到被叫進去。

Anteroom is the same idea and is the more everyday English word; antechamber feels a little older and more formal, the kind of word you meet in history, palaces, and novels.

Anteroom is the same idea and is the more everyday English wordanteroom是同樣的概念，而且是比較日常的英文用字；antechamber feels a little older and more formal而antechamber感覺比較老派、比較正式，the kind of word you meet in history, palaces, and novels是你會在歷史、宮殿題材和小說裡遇到的那種字。

People also stretch it: an antechamber to something can mean a place or stage that is only a step on the way to something bigger, not a room at all.

People also stretch it人們也會把它延伸使用：an antechamber to something can mean a place or stage that is only a step on the way to something biggerantechamber to something可以指某件更大的事情之前的一個階段或過渡點，not a room at all完全不是指房間。

It is not a bedroom, and it is not a secret hidden chamber. The French source looks like anti-, but that piece is the same ‘before’ idea as ante-, not ‘against’.

It is not a bedroom它不是臥室，and it is not a secret hidden chamber也不是什麼秘密的密室。The French source looks like anti-法文的字源看起來像anti-，but that piece is the same 'before' idea as ante-, not 'against'但那個部分其實跟ante-一樣是「之前」的意思，不是「反對」。