Adjacent Words

Quarantine definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

QUAR'ANTINE, n. [L. quartus, fourth; Eng. quart. See Quart and Square.]
1. Properly, the space of forty days; appropriately, the term of forty days during which a ship arriving in port and suspected of being infected with a malignant, contagious disease, is obliged to forbear all intercourse with the city or place. Hence,
2. Restraint of intercourse to which a ship is subjected on the presumption that she may be infected, either for forty days or for any other limited term. It is customary for the proper officers to determine the period of restraint at their discretion, according to circumstances. Hence we hear of a quarantine of five days, of ten, of thirty, etc. as well as of forty. We say, a ship performs quarantine, or rides at quarantine. We also apply the word to persons. The passengers and crew perform quarantine.
3. In law, the period of forty days, during which the widow of a man dying seized of land, has the privilege of remaining to the mansion house.
QUARANTINE, v.t. To prohibit from intercourse with a city or its inhabitants; to compel to remain at a distance from shore for forty days, or for other limited period, on account of real or supposed infection; applied to ships, or to persons and goods.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: enforced isolation of patients suffering from a contagious disease in order to prevent the spread of disease
2: isolation to prevent the spread of infectious disease v
1: place into enforced isolation, as for medical reasons; "My dog was quarantined before he could live in England"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: 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 Date: 1609 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 II. verb (-tined; -tining) Date: 1804 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

Britannica Concise

Detention of humans or animals suspected to have communicable disease until they are proved free of infection. The term is often used interchangeably with isolation (separation of a known infected individual from healthy ones until the danger of transmission passes). It derives from the 40-day (quarantina) isolation period instituted in an attempt to prevent spread of plague in the Middle Ages. Though appropriate in some cases (e.g., diphtheria), it is ineffective for diseases that are spread by other means (e.g., plague) or are contagious before symptoms appear. In some cases, contacts (e.g., the family of a hepatitis patient) are notified, educated on precautions, and monitored for development of illness. Quarantine is more often applied to animals (e.g., for rabies).

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 isolation imposed on persons or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to, and might spread, infectious or contagious disease. 2 the period of this isolation. --v.tr. impose such isolation on, put in quarantine. Etymology: It. quarantina forty days f. quaranta forty

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quarantine Quar"an*tine, n. [F. quarantaine, OF. quaranteine, fr. F. quarante forty, L. quadraginta, akin to quattuor four, and E. four: cf. It. quarantina, quarentine. See Four, and cf. Quadragesima.] 1. A space of forty days; -- used of Lent. 2. Specifically, the term, originally of forty days, during which a ship arriving in port, and suspected of being infected a malignant contagious disease, is obliged to forbear all intercourse with the shore; hence, such restraint or inhibition of intercourse; also, the place where infected or prohibited vessels are stationed. Note: Quarantine is now applied also to any forced stoppage of travel or communication on account of malignant contagious disease, on land as well as by sea. 3. (Eng. Law) The period of forty days during which the widow had the privilege of remaining in the mansion house of which her husband died seized. Quarantine flag, a yellow flag hoisted at the fore of a vessel or hung from a building, to give warning of an infectious disease; -- called also the yellow jack, and yellow flag.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quarantine Quar`an*tine", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quarantined; p. pr. & vb. n. Quarantining.] To compel to remain at a distance, or in a given place, without intercourse, when suspected of having contagious disease; to put under, or in, quarantine.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(quarantines, quarantining, quarantined) 1. If a person or animal is in quarantine, they are being kept separate from other people or animals for a set period of time, usually because they have or may have a disease. She was sent home to Oxford and put in quarantine... N-UNCOUNT: oft in/into n 2. If people or animals are quarantined, they are stopped from having contact with other people or animals. If a place is quarantined, people and animals are prevented from entering or leaving it. Dogs have to be quarantined for six months before they'll let them in. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed

Moby Thesaurus

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