Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Widespread; general.
  • adjective Medicine Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population.
  • noun A pandemic disease.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Incident to a whole people; epidemic: as, a pandemic disease.
  • noun A pandemic disease.
  • In phytogeography, growing throughout the world: cosmopolitan.
  • Pertaining to all; human; hence, sensual; not spiritual.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Affecting a whole people or a number of countries; everywhere epidemic.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Widespread; general.
  • adjective medicine Epidemic over a wide geographical area and affecting a large proportion of the population.
  • noun A pandemic disease; a disease that hits a wide geographical area and affects a large proportion of the population.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective epidemic over a wide geographical area
  • noun an epidemic that is geographically widespread; occurring throughout a region or even throughout the world
  • adjective existing everywhere

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Late Latin pandēmus, from Greek pandēmos, of all the people : pan-, pan- + dēmos, people; see dā- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Late Latin pandemus, from Ancient Greek πάν ("all") (equivalent to English pan-)+ δῆμος ("the people")

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Examples

  • The word pandemic comes from the Greek word pandemos, which literally translates to "pertaining to all people."

    Avian Flu Diary 2008

  • But, he added, "we want people to understand what the word pandemic really means."

    NYT > Home Page By MICHAEL CIEPLY 2011

  • The U.N. health agency went ahead anyway, arguing that the term pandemic signifies only that a new strain is circulating worldwide, but says nothing about how dangerous it is.

    The Seattle Times 2010

  • Health Organization's response to the swine flu outbreak and likely examine whether the term pandemic was appropriate

    WN.com - Articles related to Air Seychelles staff donate to Haiti cause 2010

  • A group of outside experts will scrutinize the World Health Organization's response to the swine flu outbreak and likely examine whether the term pandemic was appropriate for what has turned out to be a relatively mild disease, the World Health Organization said Monday.

    The Seattle Times 2010

  • The U.N. health agency went ahead anyway, arguing that the term pandemic signifies only that a new strain is circulating worldwide, but says nothing about how dangerous it is.

    Brandon Sun Online - Top Stories 2010

  • Health Organization's response to the swine flu outbreak and likely examine whether the term pandemic was appropriate

    WN.com - Articles related to Air Seychelles staff donate to Haiti cause 2010

  • Health Organization's response to the swine flu outbreak and likely examine whether the term pandemic was appropriate

    WN.com - Articles related to Air Seychelles staff donate to Haiti cause 2010

  • The term pandemic has to do with the geographic spread of a disease and not with the severity.

    Fore, right! 2010

  • The U.N. health agency went ahead anyway, arguing that the term pandemic signifies only that a new strain is circulating worldwide, but says nothing about how dangerous it is.

    Brandon Sun Online - Top Stories 2010

Comments

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  • Blood disease of vegetarian Carnivores.

    May 2, 2008

  • is an epidemic that spreads across a large region (for example a continent), or even worldwide.

    October 25, 2010

  • This was the first word I listed on this site. 2007.

    September 12, 2021