From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean "belonging" or "native to", "characteristic of", or "prevalent in" a particular geography, group, field, area, or environment; native to an area or scope.

It also has two specific meanings:

• Endemism, an organism being "endemic" means exclusively native to a place or biota
• Endemic (epidemiology), an infection is said to be "endemic" in a human population when that infection is maintained in the population without the need for external inputs.

See also

• Endemism in birds, relates to the definitions of endemism for birds only.
• Epizoology, the study of infection and disease patterns in animal populations.
• Zoonosis, any infectious disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans
• Epidemic

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Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἐν (en), “‘in’”) + δῆμος (dēmos), “‘people’”). Possibly via ἔνδημος (endēmos) and/or French endémique.

Pronunciation

• (RP, US) IPA: /ɛnˈdɛm.ɪk/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -ɛmɪk

Adjective

endemic (not comparable)

1. Native to a particular area or culture; originating where it occurs.

   Kangaroos are endemic to Australia.

2. Peculiar to a particular area or region; not found in other places.

   The endemic religion of Easter Island arrived with the Polynesian settlers.

   • 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.

3. Prevalent in a particular area or region.

   Malaria is endemic to the tropics.

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.

• For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

• (native to a particular area): alien, introduced

Related terms

• endemically
• endemism

Translations

Noun

endemic (plural endemics)

1. An individual or species that is endemic to a region.

   California’s flora includes many endemics.

Translations