I've accessed the top thesauri on Google and failed to find anything remotely acceptable. Then it occurred to me that a suitable term might be purloinable from speleology. So, for the spelunkers amongst us, is there a name for a small side chamber off the main chamber of a cave?
Ta muchly,
AJ
I've heard side cave used, but that's all.
If you're actually talking about a room in a building, then you have some choices depending on what the building is, for example a vestry in a church would count. While a coat room or gowning room would also count is some other cases.
I've heard side cave used
That's better than I already had so I changed it. Thank you. However I'd like something even better, if such a term exists.
AJ
speleology
not many there:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_caving_and_speleology
I guess spelunkers are too busy enjoying their obsession to spend time populating social media :(
AJ
I'd go with 'sinus' and unless you speak German, you'll probably won't get it.
I don't speak German but in English a sinus is a small cavity from eg the nasal cavity. Unfortunately I don't think it would translate to the context where I need it.
AJ
Grotto?
they tend to be small and open to the outside only.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotto
Grotto?
they tend to be small and open to the outside only.
The definition in a glossary produced by the Australian Speleological Federation (http://home.mira.net/~gnb/caving/glossary/G.html) is:
A room of moderate dimensions in a cave, but richly decorated.
In the UK the ornate certainly applies (although it's wrong for my context), but we think of grotto as a small stand-alone cave. If I used grotto rather than side cave, I think the readers would be unduly confused.
Apologies, and thanks for all the research you're doing. It was a constructive suggestion and I appreciate it.
AJ
thanks for all the research you're doing.
You're welcome. It was a pleasant change to see a post about something related to writing. :-)
GROT-HOLE. n. Colloquial term for a small insignificant cave with no possible leads, often tight and difficult to manoeuvre oneself in.
Thank you, but it doesn't fit my context.
Grot-hole was the vernacular from my younger days for a run-down, inhospitable pub.
The glossary of caving terms has misspelt Angels Wings.
AJ
Make one up.
Ante is the prefix for before.
An antechamber is a smaller room before a larger room.
Post is the prefix for after, so how about postchamber?
Post is the prefix for after, so how about postchamber?
That's the cleaning lady they hire after they've fired the chambermaid.
The problem is that the meaning has to be reasonably self-evident to readers.
I've been experimenting with names from other fields that indicate subsidiaries such as 'pup' or 'daughter' and obtained some bizarre results on google - do people really buy that sort of stuff?
AJ
