You've also probably heard that word more in the last few months than you have in your entire life put together.

在過去幾個月中，你聽到這個字的次數大概遠超過從前。[看電影囉寶貝]

But what does "quarantine" actually mean, and where does the word really come from?

但究竟 quarantine 這個字的真實含意是什麼，它又是從哪裡來的呢？

Let's take a break from epidemiology to instead study the etymology of this extremely popular global buzzword, and to get to the root cause of the word "quarantine."

我們先把流行病學放一邊，來好好研究 quarantine 這個全球當紅單字的字源吧！

If you're going by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of the word, the two you're probably most familiar with are "a restraint upon the activities or communications of a person or the transport of goods designed to prevent the spread of disease or pests" and "a state of enforced isolation."

quarantine 在韋氏字典中有兩個你可能比較熟悉的定義：「為防止疾病或害蟲擴散，進而限制特定活動、群體和運輸」或是「被迫隔離的狀態」。

But these are actually only the third and fourth definitions of the word.

不過這兩個意思在字典裡，分別被列在第三和第四個定義。

The first and second are "a period of 40 days" and "a term during which a ship arriving in port and suspected of carrying contagious disease is held in isolation from the shore."

第一和第二個定義分別是「四十天」以及「可能帶有傳染疾病的船隻在進港時要在岸邊進行隔離」。

Probably not what you're expecting, right?

跟你預想的很不一樣，對吧？

Well, let's turn back time and explore these more esoteric definitions.

接下來，我們透過追溯歷史來了解這些深奧的定義吧！

Like a lot of English words, "quarantine" was largely plagiarized from Western Europe.

跟很多英文單字一樣，quarantine 這個單字主要是從西歐傳過來的。

It's derived from the Latin word 'quadraginta' and the Italian word 'quaranta,' both of which mean "forty."

它是由拉丁字 quadraginta 和義大利字 quaranta 演變而來，而這兩個字都是「四十」的意思。

The actual act that the word "quarantine" refers to has been in use since long before the word ever came into prominence.

早在這個字廣泛被使用之前，隔離檢疫早已開始施行。

Even the Bible has references to the isolation of lepers in order to prevent the spread of leprosy.

就連聖經中也曾記載人們為了防止痲瘋病擴散，進而隔離痲瘋病病人的事蹟。

Prior to the 14th century when the term was coined, many cultures even had designating areas for sequestering the sick.

這個字出現在十四世紀之前，當時許多國家都有規劃特定區域來隔離病人。

In Venice, these were called 'lazarettos,' named after Lazarus, the man Jesus was said to have brought back from the dead, and also the Catholic patron saint of lepers.

在威尼斯，這些檢疫站被稱為 lazaretto，是以聖經中人物 Lazarus 來命名，Lazarus 死後經由耶穌而復活，他也被視為天主教的守護神。

And they were built outside of the city to keep the sick separate from the general population.

這些檢疫站都被蓋在郊區，為了將病人和一般民眾隔離開來。

However, it was during history's deadliest pandemic, the Black Death—which killed around 200 million victims—that quarantine as a term came into use.

然而，在黑死病傳開後，quarantine 才開始廣被使用，黑死病堪稱歷史上最致命的疾病，受害者高達兩億人。

The Venetian-controlled port city of Ragusa, which is now Dubrovnik in modern Croatia, implemented a plague-time policy known as 'trentino.'

Ragusa 是當時受威尼斯掌控的港口城市 ，而它現在叫 Dubrovnik，是克羅埃西亞的城市之一，在黑死病大流行期間，第一個隔離檢疫的具體法令就在此頒布。

Under 'trentino,' trade ships arriving from plague-infested areas were to be isolated for a period of 30 days to see if the crew presented plague symptoms before letting them mix with the general population.

隔離法令規定所有從疫區返航的商船都必須隔離三十日，在船員下船之前確認他們是否出現傳染病的症狀。

Criminals who broke the law also faced 30 days in isolation under 'trentino.'

在此法條下，所有罪犯也都要進行三十日的自我隔離。

This policy turned out to be quite successful, and over the next 80 years was also adopted by Pisa, Marseilles, and a number of other cities.

這項政策的結果相當成功，因此接下來的八年，比薩、馬賽等城市都相繼採取相同政策。

During the next century of development, the period of isolation was moved from 30 to 40 days, meaning the name changed from 'trentino' to 'quarantino' which was then anglicized to "quarantine."

經過一個世紀後，隔離期間從原本的三十日增加至四十日，名稱也從 trentino 改為 quarantino，後來英語化才變成 quarantine。

There's a lot of speculation as to why they changed the number of days from 30 to 40.

許多人都相當好奇為什麼要把隔離期間從三十日增加至四十日。

And some suggest it could be an extra safety precaution, others posit it might be because of the religious significance of the number 40, like Christ's Biblical 40 days fasting in the desert.

有些人認為是為了增加安全性的超前部屬，其他人將其歸咎於宗教因素，因為在聖經中有提到沙漠中禁食四十天。[為了你的安全，延長到四十天]

But, like many aspects of history, it's equally likely the change was purely arbitrary.

但就跟其他歷史事件一樣，這些可能只是隨意的改變，沒有特定原因。

The enforcement of the 'quarantino' was often fickle and inconsistent, and often made exceptions for the rich and influential who could simply buy themselves out of isolation when the poor bore the brunt of the law.

在當時，隔離檢疫執行得並不徹底，許多有錢有權的人可以透過賄賂輕易地違反隔離法令，而窮人成為首當其衝的承擔者。

And that may have been several hundred years ago, but really, some things never change.

雖然已經過了好幾百年，但有些事情不曾改變。

Thanks for watching this bite-sized episode of the Infographics Show!

感謝收看 Infographics Show 的這部小短片。

Wanna hear more perilous plague facts to get you through your 'quarantino?'

想聽更多關於危險疾病的小知識來伴你度過隔離期間嗎？

Why not check out "What Made The Black Death (The Plague) So Deadly?" and "Could the Black Death (The Plague) Happen Again?”

快去看看「為什麼黑死病如此致命」以及「黑死病有可能會再次爆發嗎」這兩部影片。

In the meantime, stay safe, stay quarantined, and wash your hands!

最後，好好照顧自己、乖乖待在家，然後記得勤洗手！