Endemic
//ɛnˈdɛm.ɪk// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An individual or species that is endemic to a region.
"The species that appeared as a consequence were endemics; that is, they were found nowhere else in the world."
- 2 a plant or animal that is native to a certain limited area wordnet
- 3 A disease affecting a number of people simultaneously, so as to show a distinct connection with certain localities.
- 4 a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Native to a particular area or culture; originating where it occurs. not-comparable
"The endemic religion of Easter Island arrived with the Polynesian settlers."
- 2 Peculiar to a particular area or region; not found in other places. especially, not-comparable
"Kangaroos are endemic to Australia."
- 3 Prevalent in a particular area or region, persistent within a population. especially, not-comparable
"Malaria is endemic to the tropics."
Adjective
- 1 originating where it is found wordnet
- 2 native to or confined to a certain region wordnet
- 3 of or relating to a disease (or anything resembling a disease) constantly present to greater or lesser extent in a particular locality wordnet
Example
More examples"It was discovered that less than one child in a hundred had been inoculated against endemic disease."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) + δῆμος (dêmos, “people”). Possibly via ἔνδημος (éndēmos, “among one's people, at home, native”) and/or French endémique. By surface analysis, en- + demic.
Related phrases
More for "endemic"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.