Cab"i*net (kăb"&ibreve;*n&ebreve;t),
n. [F., dim. of cabine or cabane.
See Cabin, n.] 1. A
hut; a cottage; a small house. [Obs.]
Hearken a while from thy green cabinet,
The rural song of careful Colinet.
Spenser.
2. A small room, or retired apartment; a
closet.
3. A private room in which consultations
are held.
Philip passed some hours every day in his father's
cabinet.
Prescott.
4. The advisory council of the chief
executive officer of a nation; a cabinet council.
&fist; In England, the cabinet or cabinet
council consists of those privy councilors who actually
transact the immediate business of the government. Mozley &
W. -- In the United States, the cabinet is composed of
the heads of the executive departments of the government, namely,
the Secretary of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy, of
the Interior, and of Agiculture, the Postmaster-general, and the
Attorney-general.
5. (a) A set of drawers
or a cupboard intended to contain articles of value. Hence:
(b) A decorative piece of furniture, whether
open like an étagère or closed with doors. See
Étagère.
6. Any building or room set apart for the
safe keeping and exhibition of works of art, etc.; also, the
collection itself.
Cabinet council. (a)
Same as Cabinet, n., 4 (of which
body it was formerly the full title). (b)
A meeting of the cabinet. -- Cabinet
councilor, a member of a cabinet council. --
Cabinet photograph, a photograph of a size
smaller than an imperial, though larger than a carte de
visite. -- Cabinet picture, a
small and generally highly finished picture, suitable for a small
room and for close inspection.
Cab"i*net, a. Suitable for a
cabinet; small.
He [Varnhagen von Ense] is a walking
cabinet edition of Goethe.
For. Quar. Rev.
Cab"i*net, v. i. [imp. & p.
p. Cabineted; p. pr. & vb.
n. Cabineting.] To inclose [R.]
Hewyt.
