Published on: 2026-09-15
Obscure Linguistics and Word Origins
The English word 'quarantine' originates from the Italian term 'quaranta giorni'. What does this phrase literally mean?
Correct
The term comes from the practice in 14th century Venice where ships arriving from plague-stricken areas had to anchor and wait for forty days before landing. The others are just fun sounding decoys: silent harbor sounds mysterious but is totally made up, stagnant water misses the mark because the focus was on time rather than liquid quality, and blocked passage is just a boring description of what a barricade is.