Quaranta

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A term used in Italian to signify the number forty ; a reference to a musical composition for forty voices ; a surname of Italian origin
2. An Italian numeral meaning forty ; denoting a choral work requiring forty individual vocal lines ; employed as a last name in Italian-speaking regions
3. Used in Italian to indicate the quantity forty ; describing a large-scale vocal piece for forty singers or parts ; functioning as an Italian family name

Etymology: The word "quaranta" is Italian for "forty," and English borrowed it directly from that language. Its most famous use in English comes from Venice, where the city's officials used the term for a period of isolation imposed on ships and travelers arriving from places where plague was suspected. Forty days was the standard length of that confinement, and the Italian word for it, "quaranta," gave English the term "quarantine," which later spread into everyday speech. In its own right, "quaranta" is simply the Italian numeral, and in English it appears mainly in the sense of a group of forty or a span of forty. Here the word keeps its plain counting meaning, while the more dramatic story lies in the isolation practice it helped name.

Synonyms: forty, XL, quarantine (phonetic similarity)