An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Kammer
Kammer, feminine, ‘‘chamber, office,’ fro Middle High German kamer, kamere, feminine, with the general meaning ‘sleeping apartment, treasury, storeroom, money-chest, royal dwelling, justice chamber,’ &c.; Old High German chamara, feminine, ‘apartment, palace.’ English chamber, from French chambre; but the High German word is based upon a Romance word (Spanish and Portuguese) camara, ‘room’ (Italian camera), which again is derived from καμάρα, ‘any enclosed space with a vaulted roof, a term restricted to the more civilised classes in the Middle Ages and current in the Romance and Teutonic groups; compare further Old French camra, Slavonic komora. The numerous meanings in Middle High German are also indicated by the Modern High German derivatives and compound terms Kämmerer, Kämmerei, and Kammerherr.