endemic

adjective

en·​dem·​ic en-ˈde-mik 

in-

1

of a species : native to a particular locality or region

… the Aedes aegypti mosquito … is endemic to tropical regions but is not a complete stranger to Europe …

—Anna Hodgekiss

often, specifically : restricted or peculiar to a particular locality or region

Many of China's wild species are endemic, meaning that they are found nowhere else in the world.

—Vanessa Hull

2

of a disease : persisting over time in a particular region or population

Dengue fever is endemic to tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world.

—Alejandra Borunda

3

: characteristic of or prevalent in a particular field, place, group, or environment

problems endemic to translation

communities suffering endemic poverty

… "hurry sickness" is endemic in our culture …

—Publishers Weekly

endemically

en-ˈde-mi-k(ə-)lē 

in-

adverb

endemicity

ˌen-ˌde-ˈmi-sə-tē 

-də-ˈmi-

noun

endemism

ˈen-də-ˌmi-zəm 

noun

Did you know?

Ever wonder how endemic ended up in the English language? It arrived via French and New Latin, with its ultimate origin likely in the Greek adjective éndēmos, which describes (among other things) a disease confined to one area. Éndēmos was formed from en- ( “in”) and a form of the noun dêmos, meaning “district, country, people.” That word was also key to the formation of the earlier word on which éndēmos was modeled: epidēmia, meaning “disease affecting a large number of individuals.” English adopted epidemic (also via French) in the early 17th century, but endemic didn’t become, uh, endemic until a century and a half later. (The familiar relation pandemic slipped into the language in the mid 17th.) In current use, endemic characterizes diseases that are generally found in a particular area—malaria, for example, is said to be endemic to tropical and subtropical regions—while epidemic indicates a sudden, severe outbreak within a region or group. Endemic is also used by biologists to characterize plant and animal species that are found only in a given area.

Synonyms of endemic

• indigenous
• aboriginal

Choose the Right Synonym for endemic

native, indigenous, endemic, aboriginal mean belonging to a locality.

native implies birth or origin in a place or region and may suggest compatibility with it.

native tribal customs

indigenous applies to that which is not only native but which, as far as can be determined, has never been introduced or brought from elsewhere.

indigenous plants

endemic implies being peculiar to a region.

a disease endemic to many countries

aboriginal implies having no known others preceding in occupancy of a particular region.

the aboriginal peoples of Australia

Examples of endemic in a Sentence

Divorce has become so endemic in our society that a whole lore has risen up around it: that divorce is a temporary crisis; that so many children have experienced their parents' divorce that children nowadays do not worry much about it; that in fact it makes things easier, and it is itself a mere rite of passage; that if the parents feel better, so will the children. —Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, New Republic, 6 May 2002

Situated only 250 miles off the coast of Africa, Madagascar is biologically unique. Not only does it have a rich animal and plant life, it also houses a huge number of endemic species found nowhere else on earth. —Jim Milliot et al., Publishers Weekly, 15 May 2000

The rap performers I enjoy are those who emphasize production values, songcraft and that quality of playfulness endemic to all good pop. —Francis Davis, Atlantic, October 1993

the fish is not an endemic species of the lake, and it is rapidly devouring the native trout population

Recent Examples on the Web

The animals are endemic to China, as well as Nepal, Laos and Myanmar, among others. —ABC News, 6 June 2026

Screwworm is endemic to South America and the Caribbean. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 6 June 2026

Huang said Dallas is also enhancing its mosquito surveillance by monitoring not only for West Nile virus, which is endemic in the region, but also diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. —Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 4 June 2026

Screwworm comeback Screwworms were once endemic to the US, but were eradicated in the 1960s amid a concerted effort to annihilate their population. —ArsTechnica, 3 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & New Latin; French endémique, borrowed from New Latin endēmicus, from Medieval Latin *endēmia "disease fixed in one locality" + New Latin -icus -ic entry 1; Medieval Latin *endēmia, probably from Greek éndēmos "at home, living in a place, native, confined to one area (of a disease, in galen)" (from en- en- entry 2 + -dēmos, adjective derivative of dêmos "district, country, people") on the model of epidēmia "disease affecting a large number of individuals" — more at demo-, epidemic entry 1

Note: Medieval Latin *endēmia is presumed on the basis of Middle French endemie, occurring in Thomas Le Forestier's Le regime contre epidimie et pestilence (Rouen, 1495) (see Revue de linguistique romane, vol. 36 [1972], p. 231).

First Known Use

1675, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for endemic

• anaemic
• glycemic
• pandemic
• polemic
• systemic
• academic
• epidemic
• epistemic
• chemic
• remic
• hypovolemic
• nonacademic

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Kids Definition

endemic

adjective

en·​dem·​ic

en-ˈdem-ik, 

in-

: originating or growing or found especially and often only in a certain locality or region

endemic diseases

an endemic plant

Medical Definition

endemic

1 of 2 adjective

en·​dem·​ic en-ˈdem-ik, in- 

: restricted or peculiar to a locality or region

endemic diseases

an endemic species

compare epidemic sense 1, sporadic sense 1

endemically

-ˈdem-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

endemic

2 of 2 noun

1

: a disease or outbreak of a disease that is typically present in a particular region or population : an endemic disease

2

: an organism that is restricted or peculiar to a locality or region : an endemic organism