What does "quarantine" mean?
A period of 40 days, particularly
Quarantine
/ˈkwɔɹ.ən.tin/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A period of 40 days, particularly
- Grammar: quarantine is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: alien, apartheid, apartness, beleaguer.
- Useful contrasts: allow entry, disease spread, free entry.
- Usage evidence: There is a 21-day quarantine for people suspected of having contracted the Ebola virus.
How to use "quarantine"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A period of 40 days, particularly countable, uncountable
"Now the Question seems to lye thus, where lay the Seeds of the Infection all this while? How came it to stop so long, and not stop any longer? Either the Distemper did not come immediately by Contagion from Body to Body, or if it did, then a Body may be capable to continue infected, without the Disease discovering itself, many Days, nay Weeks together, even not a Quarantine of Days only, but Soixantine, not only 40 Days but 60 Days or longer."
- 2 isolation to prevent the spread of infectious disease wordnet
- 3 A period of 40 days, particularly; The 40-day period during which a widow is entitled to remain in her deceased husband's home while any dower is collected and returned. countable, historical, uncountable
"Querentyne is where a man dyeth seisyd of a maner place and other landis where of the wyfe ought to be indowed, than the woman shall hold the maner place by .xl. days within which tyme her dower shalbe to her assyned."
- 4 enforced isolation of patients suffering from a contagious disease in order to prevent the spread of disease wordnet
- 5 A period of 40 days, particularly; The 40-day period of isolation required after 1448 at Venice's lazaret to avoid renewed outbreaks of the bubonic plague and identical policies in other locations. countable, historical, uncountable
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 A period of 40 days, particularly; A 40-day period formerly imposed by the French king upon warring nobles during which they were forbidden from exacting revenge or continuing to fight. countable, historical, uncountable
"Quarantain of the King, is a Truce of forty Days appointed by S. Louis; during which it was expressly forbid to take any Revenge of the Relation or Friends of People."
- 7 A period, instance, or state of isolation from the general public or from native livestock and flora enacted to prevent the spread of any contagious disease. countable, uncountable
"The tourists were put in quarantine to ensure none of them would be able to spread the plague."
- 8 A similar period, instance, or state of rigidly enforced or self-enforced detention or isolation. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Now treating Sandwich seems the fittest choice For Spain, there to condole and to rejoyce: He meets the French, but to avoid all harms, Slips into Groine, Embassies bears no Arms. There let him languish a long Quarrentine, And ne're to England come, till he be clean."
- 9 A place where such isolation is enforced, a lazaret. countable, uncountable
"They bring wood, millet, rye, barley, and a little wheat to the quarantine to barter with the Cossaks for salt."
- 10 A blockade of trade, suspension of diplomatic relations, or other action whereby one country seeks to isolate another. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"When a great power establishes diplomatic quarantine against them it is well not to go too far on a course on which they appear to be embarking with a light heart."
- 11 An isolation of one program, drive, computer, etc. from the rest of a computer network to limit the damage from a bug, computer virus, etc. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Also included is Canary, a ‘quarantine’ program for use as a sample to test for a virus by pairing it with new or suspect programs."
- 12 The program, drive, computer, etc. thus isolated. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"If they click on the link then they're added to your approved senders list and their message is moved to your inbox; if they don't, the message stays in quarantine."
Verb
- 1 To place into isolation to prevent the spread of any contagious disease. transitive
"Venice began quarantining incoming ships for 40 days in 1448 to prevent further outbreaks of bubonic plague."
- 2 place into enforced isolation, as for medical reasons wordnet
- 3 To enter or stay in quarantine, particularly to self-quarantine to avoid an epidemic disease. intransitive
"International travelers must quarantine themselves at their own expense in a designated hotel for 14 days upon arrival."
- 4 To impose a quarantine, to establish quarantine regulations. intransitive, obsolete
"It has just been announced that Norfolk, Va., and Holly Springs, Miss., have quarantined against Memphis."
- 5 Synonym of isolate more generally. figuratively, transitive
"J.F.K. "quarantined" Cuba rather than blockading it to avoid needless escalation of the conflict."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Synonym of restrict. figuratively, transitive
"Did any moral taint hang about me that quarantined my entrance into its circle?"
Proper Noun
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of Quarantine: the Mount of Temptation where Jesus Christ supposedly fasted for 40 days, Jebel Quruntul near Jericho. alt-of, obsolete
"By yonde ys a wyldernys of quarentyne, Wher Cryst wyth fastyng hys body dyd pyne; In that holy place, as we rede, The deuyl wold had of stonys bred."
- 2 Synonym of Mount of Temptation. dated
"Than turned we vp in to Quarantene"
Antonyms
allow entrydisease spreadfree entryfree movement
Example
"There is a 21-day quarantine for people suspected of having contracted the Ebola virus."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "quarantine"?
Common synonyms include: alien, apartheid, apartness, beleaguer, beleaguerment, beset.
How do you use "quarantine" in a sentence?
There is a 21-day quarantine for people suspected of having contracted the Ebola virus.
How do you pronounce "quarantine"?
Pronounced /ˈkwɔɹ.ən.tin/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Medieval Latin quarentena and quarentīna (“40-day period, Lent”) via Middle English quarentine, Norman quarenteine, French quarenteine, and Italian quarantina, via proposed Late Latin *quaranta + -ēna (forming distributive adjectives), from Latin quadrāgintā (“four tens, 40”). In reference to French politics, calque of French quarantaine after edicts of Louis IX. In reference to a severance of political relations, popularized by the Roosevelt administration's 1937 approach to the Axis powers and the later Kennedy administration's 1962 approach to Cuba during the missile crisis.
Etymology 2
From Latin Quarantina.