cordon sanitaire

American  

[kawr-dawn sa-nee-ter] / kɔr dɔ̃ sa niˈtɛr /

noun

cordons sanitaires plural

1. a line around a quarantined area guarded to prevent the spread of a disease by restricting passage into or out of the area.

2. a group of neighboring, generally neutral states forming a geographical barrier between two states having aggressive military or ideological aims against each other.

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cordon sanitaire British  

/ kɔrdɔ̃ sanitɛr /

noun

1. a guarded line serving to cut off an infected area

2. a line of buffer states, esp when protecting a nation from infiltration or attack

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cordons sanitaires
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cordon sanitaire

From French, dating back to 1840–50; see origin at cordon, sanitary

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cordon sanitaire

That’s why counties like Los Angeles have kept up vigilant monitoring and fly-murdering programs, sometimes with new tools, to protect the state’s agricultural cordon sanitaire from Napa and Sonoma to the Mexican border.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024

When labs nationwide began shutting their doors and halting nonessential research, Kim’s experiment ran unaffected on the ISS, protected by the cordon sanitaire of space.

From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2021

The U.S. legal system would also present significant obstacles to certain restrictions and some experts have questioned whether a cordon sanitaire, like that in China or Italy, would even be feasible.

From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2020

If Harper Lee wants a cordon sanitaire around her, let it be.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 19, 2016

You surely ought not to regret the cordon sanitaire which protects you from the utter weariness, the loss of time, I might almost add of temper, which uncongenial society would entail upon you.

From The Young Lady's Mentor A Guide to the Formation of Character. In a Series of Letters to Her Unknown Friends by Lady, An English