lazaretto

noun

laz·​a·​ret·​to ˌla-zə-ˈre-(ˌ)tō 

variants or lazaret

ˌla-zə-ˈret 

or less commonly lazarette

ˌla-zə-ˈret 

plural lazarettos or lazarets also lazarettes

1

usually lazaretto : an institution (such as a hospital) for those with contagious diseases

2

: a building or a ship used for detention in quarantine

3

usually lazaret or lazarette : a space in a ship between decks used as a storeroom

Examples of lazaretto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The intimate store, dubbed Third Man Records London, opened Saturday and was built out in the former site of a lazaretto, a historical flourish that plays deeply into White’s mythology. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2021

Closed to commercial flights, the airport has become a kind of lazaretto, reported the Wall Street Journal in mid-April, raising human rights concerns. —Laura Weiss, The New Republic, 14 May 2020

For centuries, leper colonies and lazarettos had sequestered bodies and cargos suspected of carrying disease. —Timothy Kent Holliday, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Italian lazzaretto, alteration of Nazaretto, quarantine station in Venice, from Santa Maria di Nazareth, church on the island where it was located

First Known Use

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

lazaretto

noun

laz·​a·​ret·​to ˌlaz-ə-ˈret-(ˌ)ō 

variants or lazaret

-ˈret  -ˈrēt 

plural lazarettos or lazarets

1

usually lazaretto : an institution (as a hospital) for those with contagious diseases

2

: a building or a ship used for detention in quarantine