Xanadu

Meanings

Proper Noun

• The summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire

Noun

• a place full of beauty, happiness and wonder
• An opulent building or resort that provides entertainment or luxurious living.

Related

Similar words

• : heaven, paradise
• : pleasure palace

Origin

• From Mandarin 上都 (Shàngdū). The first Romanized form comes from Marco Polo's writings in Italian as "Shan-Du". In 1617, Purchas his Pilgrimage, or Relations of the World and the Religions observed in all Ages and Places discovered, from the Creation unto this Present... by Samuel Purchas was published in London, containing the phrase "In Xamdu did Cublai Can build a stately Palace" on page 472. This was the inspiration for Coleridge's poem which uses the spelling "Xanadu".