Showroom

How to spell showroom

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce showroom

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does showroom mean?

1. nounA large room where goods such as cars, furniture, or appliances are displayed for sale.

Showroom in a sentence

• The new electric models are on display in the dealership showroom.

• She spent the afternoon comparing sofas in the furniture showroom.

Where does showroom come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent English compound, joining 'show' and 'room', both of which descend from Old English. 'Show' comes from the Old English sceawian, which originally meant 'to look at' or 'to inspect' rather than 'to display'; over the medieval period the sense flipped from the act of looking to the act of presenting something to be looked at. 'Room' comes from the Old English rum, meaning 'space' or 'extent', a close relative of the German Raum with the same meaning. The fused word 'showroom' is comparatively modern, appearing in the nineteenth century alongside the rise of commercial retail and manufacturing display halls where goods such as furniture and carriages were laid out for inspection. Because both halves are common, everyday words, the only spelling point to remember is that they are written solid, with the doubled 'o' of 'room' meeting the 'w' of 'show'.

How the word is built

• show (display)
• room (space)