lazaret
/ˌlæzəˈɹɛt/ noun
Forms lazarets lazarette
- noun (historical) A place reserved for people with infectious diseases (especially leprosy or plague) to live on a long-term basis.
- noun (historical, also figuratively) A building such as a hospital, or occasionally a ship, used to isolate sick people to prevent the spread of infectious diseases; a quarantine.
- noun (nautical) A place at the front of the tweendecks of a merchant ship where provisions are stored.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French lazaret, from Italian lazzareto (archaic), lazzaretto, lazzeretto; see further at lazaretto. Doublet of lazaretto.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A public building, hospital, or pesthouse for the reception of diseased persons, particularly those affected with contagious diseases.
- noun Typhus fever.
Etymology [F. lazaret, or It. lazzeretto, fr. Lazarus. See Lazar.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “lazaret”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details