An alternative spelling of caravansary; a large fortified inn in Middle Eastern countries where traveling merchants and caravans could lodge and trade.
Direct borrowing from Persian 'karvan-sarai,' with the same root words as caravansary. This spelling variant reflects the Persian pronunciation more directly than the anglicized 'caravansary.'
The spelling variation between 'caravansary' and 'caravanserai' shows how English borrowed the same word through different routes—one through Turkish influence and one more directly from Persian, both describing the exact same thing.
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