Acopia
Dyscopia consists of the Latin root copia, which means abundance or plenty (see cornucopia), and the Greek prefix dys-, which means "bad", "abnormal", "difficult" or "impaired".
This word has assumed two meanings, both of which are essentially a play on words based on the phonic similarity of the words "copy" and "cope" with copia.
In the field of neurology, dyscopia is used to describe a type of developmental coordination disorder related to dyslexia and dysgraphia (inability to read or write). Specifically, it is taken to mean difficulty with coping. Sometimes a similar word, "acopia", is mistaken to mean the same, although this is not a medical term and has no basis in Latin.
The term "dyscopia" has also made its way into general medical parlance as a tongue-in-cheek shorthand notation for patients who, after being examined and found to have no specific medical condition, are deemed to be not coping with certain aspects of their lives, and are presumed to be seeking treatment as a form of comfort from the medical profession. More recently, and controversially, the term has been used in this context as a diagnosis for admission to hospital.
The words have also been used in medical notes as a cryptic indication that certain members of a seriously ill patient's family are not coping with the situation and should be afforded some extra consideration for their feelings when the case is being discussed.
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