13 July 2014
quarantine
[kwawr-uhn-teen, kwor-, kwawr-uhn-teen, kwor-]
noun
1. a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.
2. a period, originally 40 days, of detention or isolation imposed upon ships, persons, animals, or plants on arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying some infectious or contagious disease.
3. a system of measures maintained by governmental authority at ports, frontiers, etc., for preventing the spread of disease.
4. the branch of the governmental service concerned with such measures.
5. a place or station at which such measures are carried out, as a special port or dock where ships are detained.
6. the detention or isolation enforced.
7. the place, especially a hospital, where people are detained.
8. a period of 40 days.
9. social, political, or economic isolation imposed as a punishment, as in ostracizing an individual or enforcing sanctions against a foreign state.
verb (used with object), quar·an·tined, quar·an·tin·ing.
10. to put in or subject to quarantine.
11. to exclude, detain, or isolate for political, social, or hygienic reasons.
Origin:
1600–10; < Italian quarantina, variant of quarantena, orig. Upper Italian (Venetian): period of forty days, group of forty, derivative of quaranta forty ≪ Latin quadrāgintā
Related forms
quar·an·tin·a·ble, adjective
quar·an·tin·er, noun
pre·quar·an·tine, noun, verb (used with object), pre·quar·an·tined, pre·quar·an·tin·ing.
un·quar·an·tined, adjective
Anagram
inane quart
near quaint
Today’s quote
I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.
– Albert Einstein
On this day
13 July 1863 – the New York Draft Riots – three days of rioting by opponents of conscription. President Abraham Lincoln had enacted the draft to boost military numbers during the American Civil War. Most opponents were working- class men who resented that the rich could pay $300 to hire a substitute in the place. By the time the rioters were suppressed, there were 120 civilians dead and 2000 injured. Considered to be the worst anti-draft riots in US history.
13 July 1985 – Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organise and stage the Live Aid Concert. The concert was held simultaneously in London, UK, and Philadelphia, USA, to raise money to fight famine in Ethiopia. Similar concerts were performed across the globe in solidarity with Live Aid. The Live Aid concerts were broadcast live to an estimated audience of 1.9 billion people across 150 nations. An estimated £150 million was raised. Some of the world’s biggest musical acts participated, including Elton John, Boomtown Rats, Dire Straits, Mick Jagger, Neil Young, Sting, U2, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Joan Baez, BB King, Paul McCartney, The Who, Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton, Status Quo, Sade, ‘Crosby, Stills & Nash’, George Thorogood, Madonna, Duran Duran, Bob Dylan, and a host of others.