Quarantine
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
Originally, a period of f6rty days. 1.
The space of forty days after the death of a husband seised of land, during which his -widow was entitled to remain in her husband's capital mansionhouse, and during which time her dower was to be assigned (^Cowel; 2 Bl. Com. 135; 1 Steph. Com. 271), was in English law called quarantine; also, this right of the widow was called her quarantine. The right, in substance, exists in most of the states, though in most of them the period has been lengthened, or has 2. The maritime regulation by which all communication with individuals, ships, or goods arriving from places infected with the plague or other contagious disease, or supposed to be peculiarly liable to such infection, is interdicted for a certain definite period, is also called quarantine, because formerly a period of forty days was the one usually prescribed. This restriction is still a common one, and generally known by this name; but, under modern practice, the period of seclusion required is lessened, varying with the exigencies of the case.