Se-răg'lĭo, n.

(se-răl'yo), n. [It. serraglio, an inclosure of palisades, Sp. serrallo, O. Sp. cerraje, Pr. serrail, Fr. sérail, from It. serrare, Sp. & Pg. cerrar, Pr. serrar, Fr. serrer, to shut, from L. Lat. serra, Lat. sera, a bar for fastening doors; afterward used for the Per. serāī, a palace. See infra.] 1. An inclosure; a place of separation. [Obs. and rare.] I went to the Ghetto, where the Jews dwell as in a suburb by themselves. I passed by the piazza Judea, where their serraglio begins. Evelyn.

2. The palace of the grand seignior, or Turkish sultan, inhabited by the sultan himself, and all the officers and dependents of his court. In it are also confined the females of the harem.
3. Hence, a harem; a place for keeping wives or concubines; and hence, a place of licentious pleasure; a house of debauchery.