/ˈlɛmə/, /ˈlɪmə/
OriginFrom Ancient Greek λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, assumption”), from the same root as λαμβάνω (lambánō, “I take”).
- A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition.
“"We finally did it, but we found the proof very, very hard," [Dr. Conway] said. "I remember my wife and I spending one entire afternoon just working on some tiny little lemmas involved in the proof."”
- broadlyA proposition originally used for such a purpose, but having later acquired a greater, independent, importance; a fundamental (often pithy) and widely-used result.
- The canonical form of an inflected word; i.e., the form usually found as the headword in a dictionary, such as the nominative singular of a noun, the bare infinitive of a verb, etc.
“Holonym: lexeme (holonymous sense)”
“For the second sense, where "word" means "item that should have its own dictionary entry," lexicographers sometimes use the term "lemma," but that has other meanings too, so among linguists the term l”
“For quotations using this term, see Citations:lemma.”
- The theoretical abstract conceptual form of a word, representing a specific meaning, before the creation of a specific phonological form as the sounds of a lexeme, which may find representation in a specific written form as a dictionary or lexicographic word.
- The outer shell of a fruit or similar body.
- One of the specialized bracts around the floret in grasses.
Formslemmas(plural) · lemmata(plural)