seraglio

[ si-ral-yoh, -rahl- ]

/ sɪˈræl yoʊ, -ˈrɑl- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR seraglio ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural se·ragl·ios.

the part of a Muslim house or palace in which the wives and concubines are secluded; harem.

a Turkish palace, especially of the sultan.

RELATED WORDS

purdah, serai, zenana

Nearby words

sequoyah, ser, ser-, ser., sera, seraglio, serai, serail, serajevo, seral, seralbumin

Origin of seraglio

1575–85; < Italian serraglio < Persian sarāy palace; sense development in Italian perhaps influenced by serrare to lock up

Also called se·rail

[suh-rahy, -rahyl, -reyl] /səˈraɪ, -ˈraɪl, -ˈreɪl/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for seraglio

A sentry had been placed at the gate of the Seraglio to prevent anyone who did not belong to the laboratory from entering.
Byron|Richard Edgcumbe
She found it a very pleasant recreation, for life in the seraglio is extremely monotonous.
In Love With the Czarina and Other Stories|Mr Jkai
So there he stood at last, on a silver pedestal in front of the Seraglio.
The Lion of Janina|Mr Jkai
Garth happily observed that for Radcliffe to leave a library was as if a eunuch should found a seraglio.
A Book about Doctors|John Cordy Jeaffreson

A broad road leads us with park-like plantations on either hand up from the sea towards the Seraglio buildings.
The Walls of Constantinople|Bernard Granville Baker

British Dictionary definitions for seraglio

seraglio

serail (səˈraɪ, -ˈraɪl, -ˈreɪl)

/ (sɛˈrɑːlɪˌəʊ) /

noun plural -raglios or -rails

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

C16: from Italian serraglio animal cage, from Medieval Latin serrāculum bolt, from Latin sera a door bar; associated also with Turkish seray palace

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for seraglio

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).