Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Star-chamber
Star′ chamˊber
,Star′-chamˊber
(stär′chāmˊbẽr)
, Noun.
[So called (as conjectured by Blackstone) from being held in a room at the Exchequer where the chests containing certain Jewish contracts and obligations called
starrs
(from the Heb. shetar
, pron. shtar
) were kept; or from the stars
with which the ceiling is supposed to have been decorated.] 1.
(Eng. Hist.)
An ancient high court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases, mainly criminal, which sat without the intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king’s council, or of the privy council only with the addition of certain judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine witnesses; it could apply torture. It was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641.
Encyc. Brit.
Webster 1828 Edition
Star-chamber
STAR-CHAMBER
,Noun.