Added 10 October 2026
caravanserai
/ˌkæɹəˈvænsəɹaɪ/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about caravanserai at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A roadside inn, usually having a central courtyard where caravans (see sense 3) can rest, providing accommodation for travellers along trade routes in Asia and North Africa.
- A place resembling a caravanserai (sense 1) as being a place for resting temporarily, or a meeting place (especially one that is busy, or where people of different cultures encounter each other).
- Synonym of caravan (“a convoy of travellers, their cargo and vehicles, and pack animals”).
Origin
Borrowed either: * from Middle French carvansera, carvassera (modern French caravansérail, carauanserrail (obsolete), caravansara (obsolete)); or * directly from its etymon Ottoman Turkish كاروانسَرای (karvanseray), كَروانسَرای (kervanseray) (modern Turkish kervansaray), from Old Anatolian Turkish [script needed] (kārvān-serā); or * directly from its etymon Persian کاروانسرای (kârvânsarây), from کاروان (kârvân, “caravan; convoy”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“army”)) + سرای (sarây, “courtyard, hall; dwelling, house; inn; mansion, palace”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- (“to cross over; to pass through; to overcome”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)