Usage of Endemic, Epidemic, and Pandemic
This trio of terms describes various degrees of an infectious disease's spread. The process begins with an outbreak—a sudden rise in the presence of a disease. An outbreak that can't be stopped or slowed, and in which the disease is spreading rapidly to many people within a localized community or region (such as a single country), is called an epidemic. The word pandemic refers to an epidemic that has gone international: the disease, once localized in scope, now starts to appear in other countries and even on other continents, typically infecting a large number of people in a short amount of time. A pandemic often has significant economic and social ramifications due to its global impact. If a disease lingers for a long time as an epidemic or a pandemic, it may eventually become endemic to an area. The word endemic describes a disease that persists at a consistent level within a region with fairly predictable rates of infection and spread, making it easier to prevent future outbreaks. Epidemic, pandemic, and endemic all share the Greek root dêmos, meaning "district, country, people."
Did you know?
Ever wonder how endemic ended up in the English language? Endemic made its way into English via French and New Latin and likely has its ultimate origin in the Greek adjective éndēmos, a word with multiple uses, among which is one describing 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 now too-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 that region or group. Endemic is also used by biologists to characterize plant and animal species that are found only in a given area.
Examples of endemic in a Sentence
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
Wilder Davies, Bon Appetit Magazine, 2 May 2025
No zoo animals were more ideologically fraught in the Cold War than giant pandas, endemic to the forested mountains of central China.
—John M. Kinder, The Conversation, 1 May 2025
Measles continues to spread in the United States, with over 900 cases nationwide, putting the country at a tipping point for the return of endemic measles for the first time since it was declared eradicated 25 years ago, new research warns.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
The island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that only allows 400 visitors on the island at a time to lessen the human impact on the landscape and endemic species.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for endemic
Cite this Entry
“Endemic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endemic. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
endemic
1 of 2 adjective
endemic
2 of 2 noun
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