Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
CABINET
I. noun
Etymology: Middle French, small room, diminutive of Middle French dialect (Picard) cabine gambling house
Date: circa 1550
1. a case or cupboard usually having doors and shelves, a collection of specimens especially of biological or numismatic interest, console 4a, a chamber having temperature and humidity controls and used especially for incubating biological samples,
2. a small room providing seclusion, a small exhibition room in a museum,
3. a. archaic the private room serving as council chamber of the chief councillors or ministers of a sovereign, the consultations and actions of these councillors, b. a body of advisers of a head of state, a similar advisory council of a governor of a state or a mayor, a meeting of a cabinet, milk shake ,
II. adjective
Date: 1631
of or relating to a governmental cabinet, suitable by reason of size for a small room or by reason of attractiveness or perfection for preservation and display in a cabinet,
3. used or adapted for cabinetmaking, done or used by a cabinetmaker