Xanadu

[zan-uh-doo, -dyoo]

noun

1. a place of great beauty, luxury, and contentment.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Xanadu¹

S.T. Coleridge's modification, in the poem “Kubla Khan” (1797), of Xandu (17th-century spelling), modern Shangdu ( Pinyin: shàng dū), the site of Kublai Khan's summer residence in SE Mongolia

Example Sentences

Just the thrill of success — I saw it as a sort of Xanadu.

From Los Angeles Times

He also was in the campy, roller-disco “Xanadu” in 2007 and “The Royal Family” in 2009.

From Los Angeles Times

You’re dead certain that at some point, someone must have come up with the elevator pitch that this is “Citizen Kane” from the perspective of Xanadu’s interior designer.

From Los Angeles Times

Is “Horizon” the capstone achievement of Costner’s career or his cowboy Xanadu?

From Los Angeles Times

I mention the late director of 1980’s “Heaven’s Gate” because there already is a cowboy Xanadu, one still struggling to graduate beyond its status as a famous Hollywood bomb and film maudit.

From Los Angeles Times