Etymology in the News: Quarantine

After weeks of reading the word in news reports, it occurred to me to ask, “Where does the word ‘quarantine’ come from?”

I consulted — as I always do — with my highly educated, fellow etymology fan during lunch today.

Her first suggestion seemed likely: a Latinate root having to do with “quarters,” “room,” etc. Perhaps one confined to a specific space was confined to a room or house. We have Spanish casa, and a number of other language cognates related to quarter, quartiere, and so forth. That seemed plausible.

I’ll give you a moment to consider alternatives, because that’s not it. Take however long you need, and I’ll proceed.

(Clock ticks.)

Time’s up.

The explanation is actually more straightforward, related to the root word for “forty,” present in many Indo-European languages, not only the Romance languages.

Some of you smart and highly educated readers may have taken that tack, and you’re correct.

During the Black Death — the Bubonic Plague — of the 14th and 15th centuries, the city/empire of Venice imposed a requirement that all arriving ships and their crews remain isolated for forty days before unloading or disembarking. The object was to avoid having them bring ashore Yersina pestis, the Black Death.

In the Venetian dialect, the Italian for “forty days” — quaranta giorni — yielded quarantino.

As it happened, whether through serendipity or some studious attention by an unknown Venetian, the course of Yersinia pestis is about 37 days from infection to death. Thus, isolating ships for 40 days assured that any plague infections would run their course prior to anyone leaving a ship and entering the isolated, island community of Venice.

Here in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, we have a number of cruise ships now out of service, berthed until conditions are safer. Capable of holding from 4,000 to more than 5,000 people, passengers and crew, they’re sitting, waiting. Here, this afternoon, Star Princess, idling at the terminal. Nowhere to go. Quarantined, although the passengers have disembarked.

I hope everyone is doing their best to deal with the current circumstances surrounding the onslaught of COVID-19. Take care of one another and wash your hands.

© Brad Nixon 2020. I consulted the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and the Oxford English Dictionary, but the most thorough explanation is courtesy of Wikipedia at this link.