lemma
/ˈlɛmə/ noun, proper noun
Forms lemmas lemmata
- noun (mathematics) A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition.
- noun (in phrases, by extension) A proposition originally used for such a purpose, but having later acquired a greater, independent, importance; a fundamental (often pithy) and widely-used result.
- noun (linguistics, lexicography) 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. “Cat is a lemma, but cats is not.”
- noun (psycholinguistics) 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.
- noun (botany) The outer shell of a fruit or similar body.
- noun (botany) One of the specialized bracts around the floret in grasses.
- proper noun (rare) A female given name.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek λῆμμᾰ (lêmmă, “premise, assumption”), from the same root as λᾰμβᾰ́νω (lămbắnō, “to take”).
From the Ancient Greek λέμμα (lémma), from λέπω (lépō, “to peel”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A preliminary or auxiliary proposition demonstrated or accepted for immediate use in the demonstration of some other proposition, as in mathematics or logic.
Etymology [L. lemma, Gr. Syllable.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “lemma”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details