adip-

DEFINITION of adip-

fat; The prefix “adip-” or “adipo-” means “fat” or “fatty tissue” and is derived from the Latin word “adeps.” It is commonly used in medical and scientific terms, such as “adipocyte” (fat cells) or “adipose” (body fat), and can also appear as “adip-” when combined with words starting with a vowel.

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ETYMOLOGY of adip-

latin

Component	Origin	Meaning
adip- / adipo-	Latin adeps, adipis (a-deps)	“fat,” “lard,” “fatty tissue” — substance combining form (possibly borrowed through Italic or Etruscan from Greek ἄλειφαρ (áleiphar), from aleíphein “to smear, rub with oil”)

The word entered English in the 1720s as adipose (adjective), borrowed from French adipeux, from Latin adeps, adipis — literally “animal fat.” The noun adiposity appeared in the 1740s, and adipocyte in the 1930s. The root adeps (“fat”) connects adip- to the entire fat and lipid roots: adipocyte (adip- + kytos $\to$ fat cell), adiposis (adip- + -osis $\to$ abnormal accumulation of fat), and adipose tissue (adip- + -ose $\to$ fatty connective tissue). The combining form adip- is productive in endocrinology, metabolic medicine, and surgical anatomy: e.g., adipogenesis, adipolysis, adiponectin, and adiposity.

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RELATED TERMS to adip-

adip-	fat	-	-
lip-	fat	-	-
stear-	fat	sebum	sebaceous glands

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DERIVATIONS of adip-

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Query

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Combining Form: adip-

Short Definition

Relating to fat or fatty tissue.

Long Definition

The combining form adip- refers to fat, adipose tissue, or fatty deposits. It appears in metabolic, endocrine, and surgical terminology.

Etymology

• latin adeps → “fat”

Related Terms

Term	Meaning
lip-	fat
steat-	fat

Common Medical Terms

• Adipose - fatty tissue
• Adipocyte - fat cell
• Adiposis - abnormal accumulation of fat

Documentation Clues

• “Fatty mass”
• “Lipomatous tissue”
• “Adipose layer dissected”

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Coder’s Notes

Often appears in operative reports describing dissection layers.

Med terms dictionary Appendix A Prefixes Appendix B Combining Forms Appendix C Suffixes Appendix D Suffix forms