A note from the Etymological Desk (from Greek etymologia: “analysis of a word to find its true origin,” or “study of the true sense of a word,” so we’re all pretty musty): It turns out that “quarantine” comes from the Latin for forty. This is because Venice established in 1377 the first formal system of quarantine, requiring ships to lay at anchor for 40 days before landing during the Plague. I guess they did a lot of Netflix. - William