Caravansary
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Alternative spelling of caravanserai. alt-of, alternative
"A dervise travelling through Tartary, being arrived at the town of Balk, went into the king's palace by mistake, as thinking it to be a public inn, or caravansary. […] It happened that the king himself passed through the gallery during this debate, and, smiling at the mistake of the dervise, asked him how he could possibly be so dull as not to distinguish a palace from a caravansary? […] 'Ah, Sir,' said the dervise, a house that changes its inhabitants so often, and receives such a perpetual succession of guests, is not a palace, but a caravansary.'"
- 2 an inn in some eastern countries with a large courtyard that provides accommodation for caravans wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"A dervise travelling through Tartary, being arrived at the town of Balk, went into the king's palace by mistake, as thinking it to be a public inn, or caravansary. […] It happened that the king himself passed through the gallery during this debate, and, smiling at the mistake of the dervise, asked him how he could possibly be so dull as not to distinguish a palace from a caravansary? […] 'Ah, Sir,' said the dervise, a house that changes its inhabitants so often, and receives such a perpetual succession of guests, is not a palace, but a caravansary.'"
Etymology
Anglicization of caravanserai, influenced by -ary, -ery (suffix denoting ‘place of’), as if meaning “place of caravans” by reanalysis as caravan + -s- (interfix) + -ary, -ery. Cognates * German Karawanserei
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.