serai

From Persian سرای (sarây, “courtyard; dwelling; palace”), with the sense as a seraglio via its use in Ottoman Turkish.

• IPA^(key): /səˈɹaɪ/
• Rhymes: -aɪ

serai (plural serais)

1. (in Turkish or Muslim Asian contexts) A palace.
2. A seraglio.
3. A caravanserai; an inn.

“serai”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

From Malay serai.

serai (uncountable)

1. (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore) lemongrass

• Aesir, Aries, ERISA, Resia, aesir, aires, arise, raise, reais

• IPA^(key): /sə.ʁe/, /sʁe/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: serez, serais, serait, seraient
• Rhymes: -e

serai

1. first-person singular future indicative of être

• aires, raies, séria, siéra

• IPA^(key): /sərai/

serai

1. Cymbopogon citratus; lemongrass.

From Malay serai.

serai

1. Cymbopogon citratus; lemongrass

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• Audio (Malaysia):

  (file)

serai

1. Cymbopogon citratus; lemongrass.

• “serai” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

serai

1. first-person singular future indicative of èsser

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish سرای (seray, saray), from Persian سرای (sarây).

serai n (plural seraiuri)

1. seraglio, palace

• IPA^(key): /sɪˈra.i/

serai class 7 (plural dirai)

1. trap, snare