Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SE-RAGL-IO, n. [seral'yo; Fr. sérail; Sp. serrallo; It. serraglio, from serrare, to shut or make fast, Fr. serrer; perhaps from יצר or צרר. Castle deduces the word from the Persian سَرَاي sarai, serai, a great house, a palace. The Portuguese write the word cerralho, and Fr. serrer, to lock, they write cerrar, as do the Spaniards.]

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. – Eton.