lazar house
Definition
Noun: A lazar house is a specialized hospital or institution for the isolation and care of people suffering from infectious diseases, historically and most notably leprosy. The term is archaic and carries historical connotations.
Usage
The term lazar house is used to refer to a historical place of quarantine and treatment. It is not used in modern medical contexts. * In the Middle Ages, a lazar house was often built outside city walls. * The old ruins are believed to be the site of a former lazar house.
Advanced Usage
- Historical/Literary Context: The word is primarily found in historical texts, literature, or discussions about medieval medicine and society. It evokes a time when such diseases were poorly understood and carried great social stigma.
- The character in the novel was banished to a lazar house.
Variants and Related Words
- Lazaretto (noun): A synonym, also meaning a hospital for contagious diseases, or a quarantine station for ships.
- Leprosarium (noun): A modern, more clinical term for a hospital specializing in the treatment of leprosy.
- Pesthouse (noun): A historical term for a hospital for victims of the plague or other epidemic diseases.
Synonyms
- Leper colony
- Leprosarium
- Lazaretto
- Isolation hospital (modern equivalent concept)
Related Phrases/Idioms
- None directly associated: The term lazar house itself is not commonly part of a modern idiom. Its usage is largely literal and historical.
Noun
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hospital for persons with infectious diseases (especially leprosy)
