seraglio

views updated May 18 2018

se·ragl·io / səˈrälyō/ • n. (pl. -ios) 1. the women's apartments (harem) in a Muslim palace. ∎ another term for harem (sense 2).2. (the Seraglio) hist. a Turkish palace, esp. the Sultan's court and government offices at Constantinople.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

seraglio

views updated May 21 2018

seraglio the women's apartments (harem) in a Muslim palace. The Seraglio was also formerly the term for a Turkish palace, especially the Sultan's court and government offices at Constantinople. The word comes (in the late 16th century) via Italian and Turkish from Persian sarāy ‘palace’.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

Seraglio

views updated May 29 2018

Seraglio

the inmates of a harem, 1634; a house of women kept for debauchery—Johnson, 1755.

Examples : seraglio of the godly (i.e., a nunnery), 1672; of flattering lusts, 1711; of maids of honour, 1860; a cock and a seraglio of seven hens, 1773.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms