seraglio
- the part of a Muslim house or palace in which the wives and concubines are secluded; harem.
- a Turkish palace, especially of the sultan.
Origin of seraglio
Examples from the Web for seraglio
Historical Examples of seraglio
The Pacha had sent his subordinate with a guard to transfer him to the Seraglio.
Dreamers of the GhettoI. Zangwill
He led the way until they came to a gallery that overlooked the seraglio.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The TurksBracebridge Hemyng
What cry was that which startles the seraglio from its siesta?
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The TurksBracebridge Hemyng
You have turned your house into a seraglio, as birds are kept in a cage.
Woman was no longer the captive of the seraglio, nor the chronicler of small beer.
Hopes and FearsCharlotte M. Yonge
seraglio
serail (səˈraɪ, -ˈraɪl, -ˈreɪl)
- the harem of a Muslim house or palace
- a sultan's palace, esp in the former Turkish empire
- the wives and concubines of a Muslim
Word Origin for seraglio
Word Origin and History for seraglio
"harem," also the name of a former palace of the sultan in Istanbul, 1580s, from Italian seraglio, alteration of Turkish saray "palace, court," from Persian sara'i "palace, inn," from Iranian base *thraya- "to protect" (cf. Avestan thrayeinti "they protect"), from PIE *tra-, variant form of root *tere- "to cross over, pass through, overcome" (see through).
The Italian word probably reflects folk etymology influence of serraglio "enclosure, cage," from Medieval Latin serraculum "bung, stopper" (see serried).