Etymologically
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quarentena

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Forms

quarentena f (genitive quarentenae); first declension[1] Medieval spellings include quarantena, quarentina, carantena and carentena.[1][2]

Etymology

It is a medieval noun of time and measure from Latin quadrāgēnī (“forty each”), of which Köbler treats it as a form of the feminine quadrāgēna.[2] Du Cange already derived it from that Latin form, not from a Germanic word.[3] The distributive belongs with quadrāgintā (“forty”).[2]

The DMLBS compares Middle English quarentine.[1] In Old French the word was quarantaine, as in the verse Du Cange quotes.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DMLBS's earliest quotations are from the Domesday Book, where it is a measure of length, the furlong, and of area.[1]

Semantic evolution

As a measure it was usually reckoned at forty rods or perches;[1][3] the DMLBS also has it for a field of unspecified size.[1] Pope Alexander III, in a letter quoted by Du Cange, uses the plural for the Lenten fasts.[3][2]

In law and diplomacy it was a term of forty days allowed for some action:[1][3] an agreement between Henry, king of England, and Count Robert of Flanders gives three such periods for a reconciliation.[3][1] Köbler adds the forty days of a widow's mourning and forty days of military service.[2] Du Cange also records it for a penance imposed on monks.[3]

Timeline

  • 1085–1086 – The Domesday Book uses it as a measure of length and of area.[1][4]
  • 1159–1181 – Pope Alexander III uses it of the Lenten fasts.[3][2]
  • 1163 – An agreement allows three periods of forty days for a reconciliation with the king.[1]
  • 1218 – A settlement of Simon de Joinville with the Countess of Champagne counts in periods of forty days.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A unit of length, the furlong.[1][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A unit of area, a square furlong; a field.[1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A period of forty days, especially one allowed by law or agreement.[1][3][2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Lent, the forty-day fast.[3][2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A penance imposed on monks.[3]

Usage notes

The English word quarantine, for the isolation of ships, is traced by Etymonline to Italian quaranta giorni “forty days”.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com