Hyperlipaemic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having an abnormally high level of lipids, such as cholesterol or triglycerides, circulating in the blood
2. Describing blood or a person whose fat content is markedly raised above the normal range
3. Characterized by an excessive concentration of fats in the bloodstream, a condition often linked to diet or metabolism

Etymology: "Hyperlipaemic" is the British spelling of "hyperlipemic," and the two forms share the same construction. It is built from "hyper-," from Greek "huper" meaning "over" or "above," joined to "lipaemic," which combines Greek "lipos," meaning "fat," with "-aemia," from Greek "haima," "blood." Put together, the parts describe blood carrying more fat than normal. The "-aemia" element is the same one found in words like "anaemia" and "leukaemia," where the Greek "haima" marks a condition of the blood. Medical writers assembled these forms from classical roots as they needed names for specific blood conditions, so the word is a modern scientific coinage rather than something the ancient Greeks would have used. The "hyper-" prefix signals an excess, so the compound reads as "excess fat in the blood."