lipo-

¹ American  

1. a combining form meaning “fat,” used in the formation of compound words.

   lipolysis.

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lipo- ² American  

1. a combining form meaning “lacking,” “leaving,” used in the formation of compound words.

   lipography.

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lipo- ¹ British  

combining form

1. fat or fatty

   lipoprotein

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lipo ² British  

/ ˈlɪpəʊ, ˈlaɪpəʊ /

noun

1. informal short for liposuction

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Usage

What does lipo- mean? Lipo- is a combining form used like a prefix that has two, unrelated senses.The first is “fat.” This meaning of lipo- is from the Greek lípos, meaning “fat.” When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, lipo- becomes lip-, as in lipectomy. The Latin word for fat, adeps, is the source of the combining forms adipo- and adip-, which are used similarly to lipo-.The second meaning of lipo- is “lacking” or “leaving.” It comes from a different Greek root, leípein, meaning “to leave” or “to be lacking.” It is used in a few, rare or obscure literary or scientific terms.

Etymology

Origin of lipo-¹

Combining form representing Greek lípos fat

Origin of lipo-²

< Greek, combining form of lip-, weak stem of leípein to leave, be lacking; see -o-

Example Sentences

The research team, led by Carl Philipp Lipo of Binghamton University, New York and colleagues, examined how these communities contributed to the making of the island's famous monuments.

From Science Daily

"Every time they're moving a statue, it looks like they're making a road. The road is part of moving the statue," said Lipo.

From Science Daily

"Find some evidence that shows it couldn't be walking. Because nothing we've seen anywhere disproves that," said Lipo.

From Science Daily

Lipo said Rapa Nui is notorious for wild theories backed by zero evidence.

From Science Daily

"People have spun all kinds of tales about stuff that's plausible or possible in some way, but they never go about evaluating the evidence to show that, in fact, you can learn about the past and explain the record that you see in ways that are fully scientific," said Lipo.

From Science Daily