vestibule

VES'TIBULE, n. [L. vestibulum.]

1. The porch or entrance into a house, or a large open space before the door, but covered. Vestibules for magnificence are usually between the court and garden.

2. A little antechamber before the entrance of an ordinary apartment.

3. An apartment in large buildings, which presents itself into a hall or suit of rooms or offices. An area in which a magnificent staircase is carried up is sometimes called a vestibule.

4. In anatomy, a cavity belonging to the labyrinth of the ear.