- room (n.)
- Old English rum "space," from Proto-Germanic *ruman (cf. Old Norse, Old Saxon, Old High German, Gothic rum, German Raum "space," Dutch ruim "hold of a ship, nave"), nouns formed from Germanic adjective *ruma- "roomy, spacious," perhaps from a PIE root *rew- "wide, open" (cf. Avestan ravah- "space," Latin rus "open country," Old Irish roi, roe "plain field").
Original sense preserved in make room "clear space for oneself" (late 14c.); meaning "chamber, cabin" first recorded early 14c. as a nautical term, and first applied mid-15c. to chambers within houses. The Old English word for this was cofa, ancestor of cove. Room-service is attested from 1913; room-temperature from 1879. Roomth "sufficient space" (1530s) now is obsolete. - room (v.)
- "to occupy rooms" (especially with another) as a lodger," 1828, from room (n.). Related: Roomed; rooming.