ˈthaləməs noun
( plural thala·mi -ləˌmī)
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek thalamos room, woman's apartment, bridal chamber; perhaps akin to Greek tholos rotunda — more at dale
1. : the largest subdivision of the diencephalon consisting chiefly of an ovoid mass of nuclei in each lateral wall of the third ventricle and being divisible into an anterior and medial group of nuclei that constitutes the paleothalamus, is concerned with primitive correlations in connection with the corpus striatum but not the cerebral cortex, and is a center for the crude perception of pain and the affective qualities of other sensations and a lateral group of nuclei that constitutes the neothalamus and serves as the great relay station of somatic sensory and optic paths to the cerebral cortex with which it is connected by the thalamic radiation
2. : receptacle 3b
3. or tha·la·mi·um thəˈlāmēəm -s
[ thalamus from Latin, from Greek thalamos; thalamium, New Latin, diminutive of Latin thalamus ]
: an inner room or bower in classic architecture usually for the women of the family