Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pandemic” come from?

Pandemic derives from Ancient Greek πάνδημος, combining πάν- (all) and δῆμος (people, from Proto-Indo-European peh₂-, to protect or guard).

pandemic (English): Of a disease: epidemic over a wide geographical...

Definitions

  1. Of a disease: epidemic over a wide geographical...

Ancestry of “pandemic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinpandēmus—
2Ancient Greekπᾶνneuter nominative singular of πᾶς; neuter...
3Ancient Greekὀπτικόςof or relating to seeing, sight or vision: optic,...
4Ancient Greekὄψιςview
5Ancient Greekὄψvoice; word; eye, face
6Proto-Hellenicwókʷs—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwekʷ-to speak, to sound out

Words derived from “pandemic”

  • anonymous
  • father
  • anonymity
  • company
  • food
  • pseudonym
  • anonymously
  • appear
  • eponymous
  • parents
  • appearance
  • Hieronymus
  • fish
  • metonymic
  • pattern
  • pseudonymous
  • apparently
  • metonymically
  • apparent
  • homonym
  • parent
  • anonymization
  • feed
  • ethnonym
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wekʷ- →