Where does the word quarantine come from?
We have enough hints in the English language to know that the root “quart” has something to do with “four.” But thinking about our quarantine situation, what does it have to do with the number four?
The answer is, nothing.
Now, quarantines aren’t new. And as a sad irony, they began in none other than Italy. You wouldn’t know if the following policy is from the Middle Ages or 2020, but there was a Venetian policy “of keeping ships from plague-stricken countries waiting off its port for 40 days to assure that no latent cases were aboard.”
Wow, forty days huh?! Well, it used to be a little shorter. A mayoral order from medieval Italy (preserved in archives) shows us legislation “which stipulates that those who come from plague-infested areas shall not enter [Ragusa] or its district unless they spend a month on the islet of Mrkan or in the town of Cavtat, for the purpose of disinfection.”
Ok, so a month makes a little more sense. It’s neat calendar-wise and evokes a sense of order. So why add the extra 10 days?
Well think back to how dominant a role religion played in the medieval period. “Health officials may have prescribed a 40-day quarantine because the number had great symbolic and religious significance to medieval Christians. When God flooded the Earth, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, and Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days.” In fact, “even before the arrival of the plague, the biblical notion of a 40-day period of purification had crossed over into health practices. After childbirth, for example, a new mother was expected to rest for 40 days.” Those who observe lent will be familiar with the significance of the number 40.
So… “quaranta” means “forty” in Italian, and along with some French and Latin influences, gave birth to the English word “quarantine.” This word is in fact quite elastic: it can mean simply 40 days…or the period of isolation/detention for ships/people etc. when suspected of carrying an infectious disease… or the place of carrying out such isolation, among related meanings.
Funny to think that if it weren’t for religious influences, we’d all be “trentined” right now (no that’s not a real word, but “trenta” is 30 in Italian)
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