Quarantine

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈkwɒɹ.É™n.tiːn/, /ˈkwɒɹ.É™n.taɪn/
• US IPA: /ˈkwɑɹ.É™n.tin/, /ˈkwɔɹ.É™n.tin/

Directly from Latin quadraginta ("forty")

Full definition of quarantine

Noun

1. A desert in which Christ fasted for 40 days according to the Bible
2. A grace period of 40 days during which a widow has the right to remain in her dead husband's home, regardless of the inheritance

From Italian quarantina ("forty"), from quarantina giorni ("forty days"), the period Venetians customarily kept ships from plague-ridden countries waiting for off port), from quaranta ("forty"), from Latin quadraginta ("forty")

Noun

1. A sanitary measure to prevent the spread of a contagious plague by isolating those believed to be infected.
2. Such official detention of a ship at or off port due to suspicion that it may be carrying a contagious disease aboard.
3. A certain place for isolating persons suspected of suffering from a contagious disease.
4. A certain period of time during which a person is isolated to determine whether they've been infected with a contagious disease.
5. (by extension) Any rigorous measure of isolation, regardless of the reason.
6. A record system kept by port health authorities in order to monitor and prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
7. (computing) A place where email messages or other files which are suspected of harboring a virus are stored.

Verb

1. To retain in obligatory isolation or separation, as a sanitary measure to prevent the spread of contagious disease.
2. To put in isolation as if by quarantine

Derived terms

• quarantinable