A pandemic is a disease outbreak that spreads over a very large area, often across many countries or continents. It affects a large number of people at the same time.
From Greek 'pandēmos', from 'pan' meaning 'all' and 'dēmos' meaning 'people'. It originally meant 'belonging to all the people' before taking on the medical sense of a disease affecting many.
The word 'pandemic' literally means 'all the people', which is exactly what makes it so serious. It’s a reminder that some problems don’t stay local—our health can be deeply global.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.