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quarantine

KWOR-uhn-teen /ˈkwɔːrəntiːn/

nounverbB2GRETOEFLIELTS

formalgeneral

A state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious disease are placed.

Applies to individuals who were exposed to a disease but are not yet proven sick, aiming to prevent transmission during incubation.

The story behind the word. From Italian 'quarantena' or 'quaranta giorni', meaning 'forty days'. In 14th-century Venice, ships arriving from plague-infected ports were forced to anchor offshore for forty days before crew or cargo could land.

Word relationships

isolation: Isolation is for known ill cases; quarantine is for potentially exposed individuals.
sequestration: Sequestration is formal removal or setting apart, often applied in legal contexts.

integration: Bringing people or elements together.
liberation: Setting free from restrictions.

Commonly confused with

isolation: Quarantine isolates the potentially exposed; isolation isolates the confirmed sick.

Word family

quarantined (adjective): Placed in isolation due to exposure risk.

Collocations

strict quarantine
quarantine period
place under quarantine
quarantine facility

Example sentences

"Ships arriving from ports reporting cholera were required to undergo a strict fourteen-day quarantine in the bay." Maritime health policy
"Customs officials placed the imported livestock under quarantine to screen for foot-and-mouth disease." Veterinary medicine

Memory hook

QUARANTine comes from QUARANTA (Italian for 40) — forty days off the coast of Venice. Quarenta = 40 days of offshore isolation.

When not to use

Do not confuse with isolation (which separates confirmed sick patients from healthy ones).

Fun facts

The number 40 was chosen in medieval Venice partly because of biblical significance (40 days of rain in the flood, 40 days in the desert).