Webster's English Dictionary

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quarantine

1. quar.an.tine \'kwo.r-*n-.te-n, .kwo.r-*n-', 'kwa:r-, .kwa:r-\ n [It 
   quarantina, fr. MF quarantaine, fr. OF, fr. quarante fort]y, fr. L 
   quadraginta, fr. quadra- (akin to quattuor four) + -ginta (akin to viginti 
   twenty) - more at FOUR, VIGESIMAL 1: a period of 40 days  2a: a term during 
   which a ship arriving in port and suspected of carrying c ontagious disease 
   is forbidden all intercourse with the shore 2b: a regulation enforcing such 
   a quarantine  2c: a place where a ship is detained during quarantine  3a: a 
   restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the tran sport 
   of goods designed to prevent the spread of disease or pests 3b: a place in 
   which persons under quarantine are kept  4: a state of enforced isolation 
2. quarantine vt 1: to detain in or exclude by quarantine  2: to isolate 
   from normal relations or intercourse {~ an aggressor } : to establish or 
   declare a quarantine