caravansary
Americannoun
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(in the Middle East and North Africa) an inn, usually with a large courtyard, for the overnight accommodation of caravans.
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any large inn or hotel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of caravansary
First recorded in 1590–1600; from French caravanserai, from Persian kārwānsarāy, equivalent to kārwān caravan + sarāy “mansion, inn”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This caravansary in Iran was built in the twelfth century and served as a fortified place for travelers to rest.
From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022
He was married now and partook zealously in the Manhattan social caravansary.
From New York Times • Jul. 8, 2021
With the vast and sparsely populated landscapes of “The Revenant,” I wanted Alejandro González Iñárritu’s balletic cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki to swivel the camera around to show the teeming crew and the high-tech caravansary behind them.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 11, 2015
The beach and adjacent campground looked like a hybrid of refugee camp and a tailgate party, with a winding caravansary of tarp canopies, trailers, smoking grills, windmills, kites and ancient conversion vans.
From New York Times • Jul. 22, 2011
So the whole caravansary had fallen in like a card house at the disapproval in her eyes.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
