caravansary
caravansary — noun
1. A large inn built around an open courtyard, found along old trade routes in part
A large inn built around an open courtyard, found along old trade routes in parts of Asia and the Middle East, where traveling merchants, their animals, and their goods could rest overnight.
Tariq's camel train stopped at a caravansary outside Isfahan for the night.
collocation: stopped at a caravansary + place name
Merchants from Samarkand rested inside the caravansary's cool stone courtyard.
The old caravansary near Damascus still has troughs where camels drank centuries ago.
Fatima described a caravansary her grandfather's trading party stayed in along the Silk Road.
Travelers at the caravansary shared news from distant cities over bowls of mint tea.
- caravanserai
an alternate spelling of the same word, more common in academic and historical texts
- inn
a general term for any small lodging place; lacks the specific Eastern context and courtyard design
- hostelry
an archaic or literary term for an inn, closer in old-world register but still Western in connotation
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2 (LODGING PLACE): this is the literal, historical meaning. The word names a real architectural form common from the 9th to 19th centuries along the Silk Road and other Asian trade routes.
常見錯誤
2. A hotel or inn, especially one that feels lively and full of travelers coming an
A hotel or inn, especially one that feels lively and full of travelers coming and going from many different places.
Emilia called the lively old hotel a caravansary of artists and wanderers.
The waterfront guesthouse became a caravansary for sailors between long voyages.
Javier rented a room in a dusty caravansary on the edge of town.
The boarding house felt like a caravansary, with new faces at breakfast each morning.
Ingrid compared the busy youth hostel to a modern caravansary.
- hotel
the standard modern term for commercial lodging; caravansary in this sense adds a poetic, bustling connotation
- inn
a smaller, often more rustic or old-fashioned lodging place
- guesthouse
typically a private home converted for paying guests; less grand in scale and less transient in atmosphere
用法筆記
Figurative extension of sense 1. Often found in literary or travel writing to suggest a place full of interesting, transient guests from many backgrounds. The word carries a romantic, old-world flavour.