Meanings
plural cordons sanitaires
- public healthA barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease.
Bubonic plague had been in relative abeyance since the 1660s, and its explosion into Marseille and Provence in 1720 confirmed the ability of government, through quarantines and cordons sanitaires, to hem the disease in and prevent its diffusion across the country.
2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 1581 more example
In accordance with their recommendation, the French Ministry drew a cordon sanitaire round the Spanish frontier. The plague gradually died away with the colder weather of the winter; but the French Ministry did not withdraw the troops who composed the cordon sanitaire.
1879, Sir Spencer Walpole, A History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815, page 327 - broadlyAny barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable.
The alternative for such a policy was the isolation of Russia and the construction of a cordon sanitaire, in order to contain Bolshevism in the present area.
1992, Peter Van Ham, Western Doctrines on East-West Trade: Theory, History and Policy, Springer, →ISBN, page 111
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Frenchcordon sanitaire
- Frenchcordon sanitaire
- Englishcordon sanitaire
Learned borrowing from French cordon sanitaire.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan cordó sanitari, cordó sanitari
- cordó sanitaria barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
- cordó sanitariany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
Danish cordon sanitaire, sikkerhedszone
- cordon sanitairea barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
- sikkerhedszoneany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
- bufferzoneany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
- stødpudezoneany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
Dutch cordon sanitaire, cordon sanitaire
- cordon sanitairea barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
- cordon sanitaireany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
Finnish hajurako
- hajurakoany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
French cordon sanitaire, cordon sanitaire
- cordon sanitairea barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
- cordon sanitaireany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
German Sperrgürtel, Brandmauer
- Sperrgürtela barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
- Brandmauerany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
Italian cordone sanitario
- cordone sanitarioa barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
Portuguese cordão sanitário, barreira sanitária
- cordão sanitárioa barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
- barreira sanitáriaa barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
- cordão sanitárioany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
Spanish cordón sanitario, cordón sanitario
- cordón sanitarioa barrier (physical or administrative) to prevent the spread of disease
- cordón sanitarioany barrier to the spread of anything deemed undesirable
Cite this entry
cordon sanitaire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cordon%20sanitaire
“cordon sanitaire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cordon%20sanitaire. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cordon sanitaire,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cordon%20sanitaire.
Source: cordon sanitaire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.