word
Italian
Quarantine
lit. “forty days”
To isolate something thought to be harmful or contagious.
Origin
From the 14th-century Venetian practice of holding ships from plague-stricken ports off the coast for quaranta giorni — forty days — before letting passengers ashore. The duration was partly medical, partly biblical (Noah's flood, Christ in the desert). The COVID-19 pandemic returned the word to constant daily use.
Modern usage
Used literally in public health and metaphorically for separating risky things: 'quarantine the bad data', 'we quarantined that conversation'.
Tags
isolation
history
disease