lazaretto

Also laz·a·ret,

[laz-uh-ret-oh]

noun

plural

lazarettos 

1. a hospital for those affected with contagious diseases, especially leprosy.

2. a building or a ship set apart for quarantine purposes.

3. Also called glory hole. Nautical.,  a small storeroom within the hull of a ship, especially one at the extreme stern.

lazaretto

/ ˌlæzəˈrɛt, ˌlæzəˈrɛtəʊ /

noun

1. Also called: glory hole. nautical a small locker at the stern of a boat or a storeroom between decks of a ship

2. Also called: lazar house.  pesthouse. (formerly) a hospital for persons with infectious diseases, esp leprosy

Word History and Origins

Origin of lazaretto¹

1540–50; < Upper Italian ( Venetian ) lazareto, blend of lazzaro lazar and Nazareto popular name of a hospital maintained in Venice by the Church of Santa Maria di Nazaret

Word History and Origins

Origin of lazaretto¹

C16: Italian, from lazzaro _lazar

Example Sentences

Calling themselves “quarantine tourists,” they trace the footsteps of “philanthropist, vegetarian, and prison-reform advocate” John Howard, who, in 1785, set out to inspect the condition of people placed in Mediterranean lazarettos, or quarantine hospitals.

From Washington Post

In the Philadelphia area, a gracious lazaretto in the Georgian style was inaugurated beside the Delaware River six years after an outburst of yellow fever in 1793 claimed the life of one in 10 residents.

From New York Times

They even created quarantine stations on military bases, the equivalent of Venice’s island lazarettos, where, in the time of the doges, the infected awaited their fate outside the city.

From New York Times

Charleston, center of the African slave trade, sponsored since 1712 several pest houses on Sullivan Island for the protection of its population; Savannah’s lazaretto was erected on Tybee Island in 1768.

From Time

Originating in Italian and Adriatic cities in the 1470s, it gradually spread throughout Europe and large facilities known as “lazarettos” were constructed to house people and merchandise from places suspected of infection.

From Time

Related Words

• detention