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Webster 1913 Edition

Seraglio

Se-ragl′io

,
Noun.
[It.
serraglio
, originally, an inclosure of palisades, afterwards also, a palace, seraglio (by confusion with Per.
serāï
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 1828 Edition

Seraglio

SERAGLIO

,
Noun.
seral'yo. The palace of the Grand Seignior or Turkish sultan, or the palace of a prince. The seraglio of the sultan is a long range of buildings inhabited by the Grand Seignior and all the officers and dependents of his court; and in it is transacted all the business of government. In this also are confined the females of the harem.

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