First Known Use: 1609
Dictionary
1quarantine
noun quar·an·tine \ˈkwȯr-ən-ˌtēn, ˈkwär-\
: the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading
: the situation of being kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading
Full Definition of QUARANTINE
1
: a period of 40 days
2
a : a term during which a ship arriving in port and suspected of carrying contagious disease is held in isolation from the shore b : a regulation placing a ship in quarantine c : a place where a ship is detained during quarantine
3
a : a restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the transport of goods designed to prevent the spread of disease or pests b : a place in which those under quarantine are kept
4
: a state of enforced isolation
See quarantine defined for English-language learners
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Origin of QUARANTINE
partly modification of French quarantaine, from Old French, from quarante forty, from Latin quadraginta, from quadra- (akin to quattuor four) + -ginta (akin to viginti twenty); partly modification of Italian quarantena quarantine of a ship, from quaranta forty, from Latin quadraginta — more at four, vigesimal
Rhymes with QUARANTINE
Aberdeen, almandine, amandine, argentine, Argentine, atropine, Balanchine, barkentine, bengaline, blanc de chine, bombazine, Borodin, brigandine, brigantine, brilliantine, Byzantine, carotene, carrageen, celandine, clozapine, contravene, crepe de chine, crystalline, damascene, Dexedrine, dopamine, Dramamine, drum machine, duvetyn, eglantine, endocrine, Eocene, epicene, estuarine, evergreen, fescennine, figurine, Florentine, gabardine, gaberdine, gadarene, galantine, gasoline, Ghibelline, go-between, golden mean, grenadine, Gretna Green, guillotine, Halloween, haute cuisine, Hippocrene, histamine, Holocene, in-between, indigene, intervene, jelly bean, Josephine, jumping bean, kerosene, kidney bean, langoustine, legatine, lethal gene, Levantine, libertine, limousine, lycopene, M16, magazine, make the scene, mangosteen, margravine, Medellín, melamine, messaline, mezzanine, Miocene, mousseline, navy bean, Nazarene, nectarine, nicotine, opaline, organzine, palanquin, pelerine, percaline, peregrine, philhellene, Philistine, pinto bean, Pleistocene, Pliocene, riverine, reserpine, saccharine, Sakhalin, Saladin, San Joaquin, sapphirine, schizophrene, serpentine, seventeen, sibylline, slot machine, submarine, subroutine, supervene, tambourine, tangerine, Theatine, time machine, tourmaline, trampoline, transmarine, travertine, Tridentine, Ursuline, Vaseline, velveteen, wintergreen, wolverine, zibeline
2quarantine
verb
: to keep (a person or animal) away from others to prevent a disease from spreading : to put or keep (a person or animal) in quarantine
quarantinedquarantin·ing
Full Definition of QUARANTINE
transitive verb
1
: to detain in or exclude by quarantine
2
: to isolate from normal relations or communication <quarantine an aggressor>
intransitive verb
: to establish or declare a quarantine
See quarantine defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of QUARANTINE
1804
QUARANTINE Defined for Kids
1quarantine
noun quar·an·tine \ˈkwȯr-ən-ˌtēn\
Definition of QUARANTINE for Kids
1
: isolation of people, animals, or things (as plants) out of a certain area to prevent the spread of disease or pests
2
: a period during which a person or animal with a contagious disease is isolated
3
: a place (as a hospital) where a person or animal with a contagious disease is isolated
Word History of QUARANTINE
Centuries ago people in Europe did not have a good understanding of infectious diseases. But experience taught them that when ships arrived in port and brought strangers, illness would sometimes follow. In Venice, a port in Italy, the practice developed of holding a ship in the harbor for forty days if the passengers were suspected of carrying disease, especially plague. If no one developed signs of illness, the passengers were let ashore. The word for this period of forty days was in Italian quarantena, a derivative of quaranta, “forty,” and it is a source of the English word quarantine.
2quarantine
verb
quar·an·tinedquar·an·tin·ing
Definition of QUARANTINE for Kids
: to put or hold in isolation to prevent the spread of disease or pests <The infected patient was quarantined.>
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