Other forms: pandemics
A pandemic is an illness spreading across the entire world at once. A global pandemic, during the pandemic, declare a pandemic.
The difference from an epidemic is reach rather than severity: a pandemic has crossed continents. The Greek means all the people, and the World Health Organization is what formally declares one.
1nounpandemicAn illness spreading across the entire world at once.
“Schools and offices closed around the world during the pandemic.”
pandemic is an outbreak.
Greek pandemos means of all the people, from pan, all, plus demos, people.
Proto-Indo-European
*peh₂- — to protect, shepherd
Ancient Greek
πάνδημος — of or belonging to all the people, public
English, today
pandemic
Built from
From Ancient Greek πάνδημος (“of or belonging to all the people, public”) + -ic. πάνδημος is derived from παν- (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European peh₂- (“to protect, shepherd”)) + δῆμος (“the common people; free citizens, sovereign people”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European deh₂- (“to divide, share”)). Compare Latin pandēmus (“affecting all the people, general, public”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA