a small locker at the stern of a boat or a storeroom between decks of a ship
2. Also called: lazar house, pesthouse
(formerly) a hospital for persons with infectious diseases, esp leprosy
Word origin
C16: Italian, from lazzarolazar
lazaretto in American English
(ˌlæzəˈrɛtoʊ)
nounWord forms: pluralˌlazaˈrettos
1. Obsolete
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
Also, and for 3 usually, ˌlazaˈret, ˌlazaˈrette (ˌlæzəˈrɛt)
Word origin
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