Xanadu

[ zan-uh-doo, -dyoo ]

noun

1. a place of great beauty, luxury, and contentment.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Xanadu¹

S.T. Coleridge's modification, in the poem “Kubla Khan” (1797), of Xandu (17th-century spelling), modern Shangdu ( Pinyin: shàng dū), the site of Kublai Khan's summer residence in SE Mongolia

Example Sentences

Is “Horizon” the capstone achievement of Costner’s career or his cowboy Xanadu?

From Los Angeles Times

I mention the late director of 1980’s “Heaven’s Gate” because there already is a cowboy Xanadu, one still struggling to graduate beyond its status as a famous Hollywood bomb and film maudit.

From Los Angeles Times

“And all the charms of Xanadu.”

From Literature

At least two of those set decorators and another prop house owner credited Meyer — a 75-year-old former set decorator whose credits include the 1980 Olivia Newton-John musical “Xanadu” and the 1970s detective series “Switch” — with inventing the fake book.

From Los Angeles Times

And when the karaoke rolls around, Cubarrubia and Morales break out dancing as they sing Olivia Newton-John’s “Xanadu.”

From Los Angeles Times