Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope.
It also has two specific meanings:
- In ecology, an organism being "endemic" means exclusively native to a place or biota. It is in contrast to any one of several terms meaning "not native" (e.g., adventive, exotic, alien, introduced, naturalized, non-native). See endemic (ecology).
- In epidemiology, an infection is said to be "endemic" in a population when that infection is maintained in the population without the need for external inputs. See endemic (epidemiology).
