seraglio
English
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seraglio
- /səˈɹæljoʊ/ US
- /səˈɹæɡliːoʊ/ US
Where it comes from
From Italian serraglio, from Vulgar Latin *serrāculum, from a late form of Latin serāre (“lock up, close”), from sera (“lock, bolt”). The Italian word was used (because of phonetic similarity) to translate Turkish saray (“palace”). Compare serai, serail.
noun seraglios · serraglio
- A palace of a sultan.
- The palace of the Grand Seignior in Constantinople. At these words he started up, and beheld—not his Sophia—no, nor a Circassian maid richly and elegantly attired for the grand Signior's seraglio.
- A profligate or decadent residence of a rich person. In 1936 [Charles] Schwab's agents approached the La Guardia administration in New York, hoping to interest the city in buying his mansion for the official residence of the mayor. […] But Fiorello La Guardia took great pride in the fact that he lived in a modest walkup in Lower New York. He ridiculed
- The sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines (odalisques) in a Turkish Muslim household.
- A brothel or place of debauchery.
- An interior cage or enclosed courtyard for keeping wild beasts.
Translations
Talk about this word "seraglio." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/seraglio. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. seraglio. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/seraglio "seraglio." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/seraglio.Cite this
@misc{seraglio_2026,
title = {seraglio},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/seraglio},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
