OT: What does 'Lyproscopic' mean?

[narf poit chez BOOM]

It's a real word. Apparently, it's a very obscure word.

It came up in my brother's homework and now we're curious.

Thanks.

[Will]

Looks to me like a case of a typo or an "invention" in a somewhat reliable source being spread around. All searches for it bring up the exact same information, on Lithium in a periodic table, with a description that states the salt lithium chloride is one of the most lyproscopic materials known.

If the homework came from a textbook, you might be able to make a pretty big stink with the publisher about plagarism. If the teacher made up the homework, your brother could put the teacher on the spot for not being very dilligent with information sources.

If it is a scientific term, there would exist more than one sentence using it, and a definition somewhere. So, I would say that it's a word so obscure, that it technically doesn't exist

[Alneyan]

If the creator of this word actually used Greek, it would mean something like "someone/something slim/skinny" (from the adjective lupros (a,on), slim, "causing grievances" => not sure what that one means).

I am not sure if that would be the meaning of the word though, since I know literally nothing about Lithium, elements and the like.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Top three hits when I do a Web search for it from Dictionary.com:

Lithium
... Lithium chloride is one of the mostlyproscopic materials known, and it, as
well as lithium bromide, is used in air conditioning and industrial drying ...
www.scescape.net

BabyCenter | Community: BBS - Dads' advice to moms | Vasectomy!
... her in case she wanted it done in the future that now it's basically an in
and out lyproscopic procedure through the navel with a short recovery time. ...
bbs.babycenter.com

Canadian Parents - Canada's Parenting Website
... Just an update: I had lyproscopic(sp?) surgery May 1. It went well, but on my
check up yesterday Dr. says my prior blood work showed an abnormal liver ...
forum.canadianparents.ca

Ermm OK.....

[AgentZero]

Strategia, don't know about the first one, but the other two are mispellings of Laparoscopic, which is basically a form of surgery in which a small endoscope is insterted into the abdominal cavity through a small incision. Sound like a text book, don't I? My mom had one a few years back and I remember subjecting the doctors to a serious grilling as to exactly what they intended to do.

[Captain Kwok]

And that connection with LiCl/LiBr would be better served with hygroscopic, so maybe that's a typo too...

[Spoo]

narf poit chez BOOM said:
It's a real word. Apparently, it's a very obscure word.

It came up in my brother's homework and now we're curious.

Thanks.

Narf, in what context was "lyproscopic" used in the homework?

[narf poit chez BOOM]

...I'll have to read the page...

[dogscoff]

"Lyproscopic"

Like "Lycanthropic", but smaller. Kind of a were-midget, I guess.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

LOL a were-mouse! Beware of the Were-Narf!