cordon sanitaire

[ French kawr-dawn sa-nee-ter ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural cor·dons sa·ni·taires [kaw, r, -daw, n, sa-nee-, ter].

a line around a quarantined area guarded to prevent the spread of a disease by restricting passage into or out of the area.
a group of neighboring, generally neutral states forming a geographical barrier between two states having aggressive military or ideological aims against each other.

cordon sanitaire

/ kɔrdɔ̃ sanitɛr /

a guarded line serving to cut off an infected area
a line of buffer states, esp when protecting a nation from infiltration or attack

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From French, dating back to 1840–50; cordon, sanitary

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C19: literally: sanitary line

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A proposal by President Carranza to draw a cordon sanitaire round the place has not yet reached Washington.

The plague is raging with unwonted fatality; but no cordon sanitaire is established—no adequate remedy sought.

Some of the French statesmen occasionally say what is not true (cordon sanitaire); here they conceal the truth.

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