seraglio
/səˈɹæljoʊ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.71 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A profligate or decadent residence of a rich person.
noun
The sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines (odalisques) in a Turkish Muslim household.
noun
A brothel or place of debauchery.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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 idea of moving into the robber baron's seraglio, telling newsmen that the city much preferred having the tax revenue from the mansion."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /səˈɹæljoʊ/
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Places.