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seraglio - 5 dictionary results
se⋅ragl⋅io
[si-ral-yoh, -rahl-] 
–noun, plural -ragl⋅ios.
| 1. | the part of a Muslim house or palace in which the wives and concubines are secluded; harem. |
| 2. | a Turkish palace, esp. of the sultan. |
Also called se⋅rail [suh-rahy, -rahyl, -reyl] .
[suh-rahy, -rahyl, -reyl] . Origin:
1575–85; < It serraglio < Pers sarāy palace; sense development in It perh. influenced by serrare to lock up
1575–85; < It serraglio < Pers sarāy palace; sense development in It perh. influenced by serrare to lock up
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To seraglio
| se·ra·glio (sə-rāl'yō, -räl'-) n. pl. se·ra·glios
[Italian serraglio, enclosure, seraglio, probably partly from Vulgar Latin *serraculum, enclosure (from *serrāre, to lace up, from Latin serāre, from sera, door-bar) and partly from Turkish saray, palace (from Persian sarāy, inn; see terə-2 in Indo-European roots).] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Seraglio
Se*ragl"io\, n. [It. serraglio, originally, an inclosure of palisades, afterwards also, a palace, seraglio (by confusion with Per. ser[=a]["i]a a palace, an entirely different word), fr. serrare to shut, fr. LL. serra a bar for fastening doors, L. sera. See Serry, Series.]1. An inclosure; a place of separation. [Obs.] I went to the Ghetto, where the Jews dwell as in a suburb, by themselves. I passed by the piazza Judea, where their seraglio begins. --Evelyn. 2. The palace of the Grand Seignior, or Turkish sultan, at Constantinople, inhabited by the sultan himself, and all the officers and dependents of his court. In it are also kept the females of the harem. 3. A harem; a place for keeping wives or concubines; sometimes, loosely, a place of licentious pleasure; a house of debauchery.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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seraglio
"harem," also the name of a former palace of the sultan in Istanbul, 1581, from It. seraglio, alteration of Turk. saray "palace, court," from Pers. sara'i "palace, inn," from Iranian base *thraya- "to protect" (cf. Avestan thrayeinti "they protect"). The It. word probably reflects folk etymology influence of serraglio "enclosure, cage," from M.L. serraculum "bung, stopper" (see serried).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Seraglio
in Istanbul, collection of classical antiquities, manuscripts, ceramics, armour, textiles, and other artifacts, housed in the sultans' Seraglio (Topkapi Saray). It was established in 1892 and later extended
Learn more about Seraglio with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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