Quarantine,

Quarantine，

a state, period, or place of strict isolation meant to prevent the spread of disease.

意指隔離檢疫的狀態、 時間，或場所，用以防止疾病傳播。

In the 14th century, the Bubonic Plague, later called "The Black Death," spread across Europe with devastating consequences.

十四世紀時，瘟疫，後稱之為「黑死病」 蔓延歐洲，造成破壞性的結果。

It's been estimated that the Plague decimated at least one-third of Europe's population.

據估計，瘟疫毀滅了歐洲至少三分之一的人口。

In a vain effort to stave off infection, the Italian-speaking port city of Ragusa, in what is now Croatia,

雖然最後淪為徒勞，但為避免流行病侵襲使用義大利語的港口城市拉古薩，也就是現今的克羅埃西亞，

mandated that ships arriving from Plague-infested areas remain isolated on the water until it was deemed likely that they weren't carrying a disease.

下令凡從瘟疫橫行地區航行而來的船舶，都必須在水上隔離一段時間，直到確定沒有攜帶病原。

This meant that the entire contents of a ship and all of its passengers were often forced to remain on board for five or six weeks before being let ashore.

這意味著，船上所有東西及乘客時常會被迫留在船上五至六星期，才被允許上岸。

Though the drastic measure was only marginally successful, it wasn't long before other port cities followed suit.

儘管這個嚴厲的措施只算得上是勉強成功，沒多久後，其他港口城市也群起效仿。

In 1397, the official period of isolation imposed on ships and crews was set at forty days.

1397 年，官方規定的船隻及船員隔離期為四十天。

Although it did little to protect ports from infection, the directive stuck.

雖然沒能成功保護港口免於病毒侵害，這道命令仍存留了下來。

From the Italian word "quaranta," meaning forty, this period of stasis was given the name quarantine.

源於義大利語的 quaranta ，原意為「四十」，後留置期的時間就被稱為 quarantine（檢疫期）。

And by the mid 1600s, the word quarantine was being used to describe any place, period, or state of isolation, plague-related or not.

而到了十七世紀中葉，quarantine 這個詞也被用來指稱任何隔離的場所、 期間或狀態，無論是否與瘟疫有關。