lazarettos

Variant of lazaretto

lazaretto definition

laza·retto (laz′ə ret′ō)

noun pl. lazarettos -·tos

  1. a public hospital for poor people having contagious diseases, esp. for lepers
  2. a building or ship used as a quarantine station
  3. a storage space below deck in the stern of a ship or boat

Etymology: It < Venetian lazareto, nazareto, after Venetian church of Santa Madonna di Nazaret, used as a plague hospital during the 15th c.; initial l- by assoc. with lazzaro, leper: see lazar

Also, and for 3 usually, lazaret laz′a·ret′ or lazarette laz′a·rette′ (laz′ə ret′)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments


Do you have more to add? Sign in to share your linguistic knowledge or observation.

Connect with Facebook