Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 23, 2023 is: endemic \en-DEM-ik\ adjective

Endemic means “growing or existing in a certain place or region.” It can also mean “common in a particular area or field.”

// Our children were excited to finally see wild giant pandas—endemic to just three provinces in south-central China—during our family vacation.

// Although he discovered that low wages were endemic to his line of work, he continued to pursue his passion.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endemic)

Examples:

“Scientists have also documented the presence of Galapagos [rails](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rail#h3), known locally as pachays, an endemic bird never before reported on this island, on the upper part of Pinzon Island.” — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 15 Dec. 2022

Did you know?

Ever wonder how endemic ended up in the English language? Endemic made its way into English via French and [New Latin](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/New%20Latin) and likely has its ultimate origin in the Greek adjective éndēmos, a word with multiple uses, among which is one describing a disease confined to one area. Éndēmos was formed from en- ( “in”) and a form of the noun dêmos, meaning “district, country, people.” That word was also key to the formation of the earlier word on which éndēmos was modeled: epidēmia, meaning “disease affecting a large number of individuals.” English adopted epidemic (also via French) in the early 17th century, but endemic didn’t become, uh, endemic until a century and a half later. (The now too-familiar relation [pandemic](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pandemic) slipped into the language in the mid 17th.) In current use, endemic characterizes diseases that are generally found in a particular area—malaria, for example, is said to be endemic to tropical and subtropical regions—while [epidemic](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epidemic) indicates a sudden, severe outbreak within that region or group. Endemic is also used by biologists to characterize plant and animal species that are found only in a given area.