seraglio /səˈɹæljoʊ/ noun6 •A palace of a sultan. •The sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines (odalisques) in a Turkish Muslim household. •The palace of the Grand Seignior in Constantinople.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. — 1749 •A brothel or place of debauchery. •A profligate or decadent residence of a rich person. •An interior cage or enclosed courtyard for keeping wild beasts. formsseraglios