seraglio

Meaning

1. A palace of a sultan.
2. A palace of a sultan.
3. A profligate or decadent residence of a rich person.
4. The sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines (odalisques) in a Turkish Muslim household.
5. A brothel or place of debauchery.
6. An interior cage or enclosed courtyard for keeping wild beasts.

Synonyms

harem

serail

hareem

women’s apartment

palace

inner palace

gyneceum

gynaeceum

Translations

sérail

Serail

serraglio

saray

harem

Harem

harem

serail

حرم النساء

παλάτι

harém

serrallo

harem

Pronounced as (IPA)

/səˈɹæljoʊ/

Etymology

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.