What does lazaret mean?
A lazaret is a place where people were isolated because they had contracted or might carry a dangerous infectious disease, especially plague. Historically, such institutions could be hospitals, quarantine stations, or purpose-built settlements situated outside a city. They are closely associated with outbreaks of plague and with the enforcement of quarantine, although a lazaret could also function as a hospital for people with leprosy. The word now has an archaic and literary character, appearing more often in historical accounts, historical fiction, and discussions of public health than in everyday speech. Its unusual sound and its association with disease have made it evocative of fear, exclusion, and enforced separation. The closely related form lazaretto is also encountered in older English, sometimes referring to a quarantine station and sometimes to a plague hospital. Although rare, the lazaret remains a precise historical term for an institution created in response to contagious disease.
A hospital or quarantine station established to isolate people with plague or another dangerous infectious disease.
"The port authorities converted the old warehouses into a lazaret during the epidemic."
Chiefly historical; also used in literary and historical descriptions of disease outbreaks.
An institution used to isolate and treat people regarded as having leprosy.
"He was admitted to the lazaret after the diagnosis was confirmed."
This sense is less common and is chiefly historical or literary.
The plural is rare, consistent with the word's chiefly historical status.
"Several lazarets were established outside the city during the epidemic."
Once a symbol of enforced isolation, the lazaret survives mainly in historical writing and in the darker corners of literature.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lazaret come from?
The word entered English in the early 17th century from French lazaret, which was borrowed from an obsolete Italian form related to lazaretto. These forms are traditionally associated with the name of Lazarus, reflecting an old belief that a place dedicated to Saint Lazarus was associated with the care of people affected by leprosy. The precise historical connection between the place-name tradition and the word's medical meaning is not entirely certain.
How lazaret is actually used
The word is uncommon in modern standard English and is chiefly historical, archaic, or literary. It is more readily associated with plague quarantine than with present-day infectious-disease terminology.
Easily confused with lazaret
A lazaret is the institution itself, whereas a lazaretto is a place of quarantine or isolation and was also used historically for a plague hospital.