Endemic

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /É›nˈdÉ›m.ɪk/
• Rhymes: -É›mɪk

Alternative forms

• endemick obsolete

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἐν (en, "in") + δῆμος (dēmos, "people"). Possibly via ἔνδημος (endēmos, "among ones people, at home, native") and/or French endémique.

Full definition of endemic

Adjective

1. Native to a particular area or culture; originating where it occurs.Kangaroos are endemic to Australia.
2. (Especially of plants and animals.) Peculiar to a particular area or region; not found in other places.The endemic religion of Easter Island arrived with the Polynesian settlers.
3. (Especially of diseases.) Prevalent in a particular area or region.Malaria is endemic to the tropics.
• 1998, Gillian Catriona Ramchand, Deconstructing the Lexicon, in Miriam Butt and Wilhelm Geuder, eds. “The Projection of Arguments”These problems are endemic to the theory of thematic roles as currently conceived, because the classification it implies simply does not correspond to legitimate linguistic semantic definitions.

Usage notes

An endemic disease is one which is constantly present in a given area, though usually at low levels, whereas an epidemic is widespread and has a high incidence. A sporadic disease occurs now and then at low levels.

Synonyms

• (native to a particular area) native
• (peculiar to a particular area) indigenous

Antonyms

• (native to a particular area) alien, introduced
• (localized) systemic

Related terms

• endemically
• endemism

Noun

1. An individual or species that is endemic to a region.
• 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society 2011, p. 34:The species that appeared as a consequence were endemics; that is, they were found nowhere else in the world.