endemic

See also: endèmic

English

WOTD – 31 March 2008

Alternative forms

• endemick (obsolete)

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /ɛnˈdɛm.ɪk/, (less common) /ɪnˈdɛm.ɪk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛmɪk

Adjective

endemic (not comparable)

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

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

2. (especially of plants and animals) Peculiar to a particular area or region; not found in other places.

   Kangaroos are endemic to Australia.

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.

   • 2017 July 26, Lindsay Murdoch, “Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's first female PM, faces financial ruin and jail”, in The Sydney Morning Herald;‎^[1]:

     In a country where corruption is endemic, no evidence has been presented that Ms Yingluck took any money from the rice scheme, which in 2012 and 2013 cost Thailand billions of dollars. But a state-appointed committee last year ordered her to pay the fine, finding she was to blame, even though it was government policy.

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.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:endemic.

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "native to a particular area"): alien, introduced
• (antonym(s) of "localized"): systemic

Derived terms

• Balkan endemic nephropathy
• endemical
• endemically
• endemicity
• holoendemic
• hyperendemic
• hypoendemic
• mesoendemic
• microendemic
• near-endemic
• nonendemic
• paleoendemic
• subendemic
• tripledemic

 

Related terms

• ecdemic
• endemism
• epidemic
• pandemic

 

Translations

native to a particular area — see also native

• Catalan: endèmic
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 地方特有的

• Danish: endemisk
• Dutch: inheems (nl), endemisch (nl)
• Finnish: kotoperäinen (fi), endeeminen (fi)
• French: indigène (fr), endémique (fr)
• Galician: endémico m
• German: endemisch (de)
• Greek: ενδημικός (el) m (endimikós)
• Hungarian: honos (hu), őshonos (hu)
• Italian: endemico (it)
• Kashubian: endemiczny
• Maltese: endemiċi
• Maori: taketake
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: endemisk (no)

  Nynorsk: endemisk

• Polish: endemiczny (pl)
• Portuguese:

  Brazilian: endêmico (pt)

  European: endémico

• Romanian: endemic (ro)
• Russian: эндеми́ческий (ru) (endemíčeskij)
• Spanish: endémico (es)

peculiar to a particular area — see also indigenous

• Catalan: endèmic
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 地方性流行, 地方特有的

• Dutch: endemisch (nl)
• Finnish: endeeminen (fi)
• French: endémique (fr)
• German: endemisch (de)
• Greek: ενδημικός (el) m (endimikós)
• Hungarian: bennszülött (hu), helyi (hu), endemikus (hu)
• Italian: endemico (it)
• Maori: taketake
• Polish: endemiczny (pl)
• Portuguese:

  Brazilian: endêmico (pt)

  European: endémico

• Romanian: endemic (ro)
• Spanish: endémico (es)

prevalent in a particular area

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 地方特有的

• Czech: endemický (cs)
• Dutch: endemisch (nl)
• Finnish: kotoperäinen (fi), endeeminen (fi)
• French: endémique (fr)
• German: endemisch (de)
• Greek: ενδημικός (el) m (endimikós)
• Italian: endemico (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: endemisk (no)

  Nynorsk: endemisk

• Polish: endemiczny (pl)
• Portuguese:

  Brazilian: endêmico (pt)

  European: endémico

• Romanian: endemic (ro)
• Spanish: endémico (es)
• Swedish: endemisk (sv)
• Turkish: endemik (tr)

Noun

endemic (plural endemics)

1. An individual or species that is endemic to a region.
   • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 34:

     The species that appeared as a consequence were endemics; that is, they were found nowhere else in the world.

2. A disease affecting a number of people simultaneously, so as to show a distinct connection with certain localities.

Translations

individual or species that is endemic

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 地方特有种 (dìfāngtèyǒuzhǒng)

• Dutch: inheemse (nl) soort (nl) f, inboorling (nl) m
• Finnish: kotoperäinen laji
• German: Endemit (de) m
• Hungarian: bennszülött (hu)
• Kazakh: індет (ındet)
• Polish: endemit (pl) m
• Romanian: endemit n
• Russian: энде́мик (ru) (endémik)
• Spanish: endémismo m

disease affecting a number of people simultaneously, so as to show a distinct connection with certain localities

• Armenian: տեղաճարակ (hy) (teġačarak)
• Catalan: endèmia f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 地方病 (zh) (dìfāngbìng), 风土病 (fēngtǔbìng)

• Czech: endemie (cs) f
• Finnish: endemia (fi)
• French: endémie (fr) f
• Galician: endemia f
• German: Endemie (de) f
• Hungarian: endémiás járvány/betegség, endémia
• Italian: endemia (it) f
• Japanese: 風土病 (ja) (ふどびょう, fudobyō)
• Portuguese: endemia (pt) f
• Romanian: endemie (ro) f
• Spanish: endemia f
• Swedish: endemi (sv) c

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “endemic”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French endémique. By surface analysis, endemie +‎ -ic.

Adjective

endemic m or n (feminine singular endemică, masculine plural endemici, feminine and neuter plural endemice)

1. endemic

Declension

Declension of endemic

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	endemic		endemică	endemici	endemice
	definite	endemicul		endemica	endemicii	endemicele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	endemic		endemice	endemici	endemice
	definite	endemicului		endemicei	endemicilor	endemicelor

Related terms

• endemicitate