Where does “seraglio” come from?
Seraglio comes from Italian serraglio, from Turkish saray, ultimately from Latin sera meaning "bolt" or "bar," derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ser-.
seraglio (English): The palace of the Grand Seignior in...
Definitions
- The palace of the Grand Seignior in...
Ancestry of “seraglio”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | serraglio | harem; seraglio; menagerie |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | serraculum | — |
| 3 | Latin | serāre | — |
| 4 | Latin | sēra | a bar or bolt for fastening doors |
| 5 | Latin | serō | to sow, plant |
| 6 | Latin | sērus | late, too late |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | swerjos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | swer-yo-s | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | swer- | to ache; to fester; wound; injury |