English
quarantine
Quarantine comes from Medieval Latin quarentena ‘40-day period’, from Latin quadrāgintā ‘forty’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷétwr̥dḱomth₂ ‘forty’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷétwr̥dḱomth₂1‘forty’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrāgintā1‘forty’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CE*quaranta1‘forty’uncertain
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500quarentena1‘40-day period’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quarentine1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1470quarantine1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English quarantine
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1470, William Wey, The Itineraries: “By yonde ys a wyldernys of quarentyne, Wher Cryst…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷétwr̥dḱomth₂Wiktionary, English quarantine‘forty’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquadrāgintāWiktionary, English quarantine‘forty’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CE*quarantaWiktionary, English quarantine‘forty’uncertain
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500quarentenaWiktionary, English quarantine‘40-day period’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quarentineWiktionary, English quarantine
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1470quarantineWiktionary, English quarantine. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1470, William Wey, The Itineraries: “By yonde ys a wyldernys of quarentyne, Wher Cryst…”
The story
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.
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Today it means
noun A period of 40 days, particularly
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “quarantine”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷétwr̥dḱomth₂ / quarantine