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• lymph
  lymph

  noun

  a clear yellowish, slightly alkaline, coagulable fluid, containing white blood cells in a liquid resembling blood plasma, that is derived from the tissues of the body and conveyed to the bloodstream by the lymphatic vessels.
• lymph-
  lymph-

  variant of lympho- before a vowel.

lymph

¹ American  

[limf] / lɪmf /

noun

• lymphs
  plural

1. Anatomy, Physiology. a clear yellowish, slightly alkaline, coagulable fluid, containing white blood cells in a liquid resembling blood plasma, that is derived from the tissues of the body and conveyed to the bloodstream by the lymphatic vessels.

2. Archaic. the sap of a plant.

3. Archaic. a stream or spring of clear, pure water.

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lymph- ² American  

1. variant of lympho- before a vowel.

   lymphoma.

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lymph British  

/ lɪmf /

noun

1. the almost colourless fluid, containing chiefly white blood cells, that is collected from the tissues of the body and transported in the lymphatic system

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lymph Scientific  

/ lĭmf /

1. The clear fluid flowing through the lymphatic system that serves to bathe and nourish the tissues of the body. It is composed of blood plasma that has leaked out through the capillaries into the tissues.

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lymph Cultural  

1. A clear, colorless fluid that circulates through the lymphatic system. Lymph fills the tissue spaces of the body.

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Usage

What does lymph- mean? Lymph- is a combining form used like a prefix indicating lymph, an important liquid in the body that contains white blood cells and is conveyed to the bloodstream through lymphatic vessels. Lymph- is used in many medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology. Lymph- comes from the Latin lympha, meaning “water.” This Latin root has been connected to the Greek word nýmphē, source of nymph in English. Discover more at our entry for nymph. Lymph- is a variant of lympho-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use lympho- article. Closely related to lymph- and lympho- is lymphangi-, a combining form meaning “lymph vessel” and connected to the combining form angio-.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lymphs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of lymph

1620–30; < Latin lympha water (earlier *limpa; see limpid); pseudo-Greek form, by association with nympha < Greek nýmphē nymph

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lymph lymph- lymphs

"Because if it had spread to, for example, the lymph nodes in the center of the chest, he would have had some treatment before surgery, which he didn't have," he explained.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Within minutes, the tracers reached nearby lymph nodes, connecting the eye's newly identified drainage route to the body's broader lymphatic system.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

The other forms of plague are bubonic, which infects the lymph nodes, and septicemic, which is transmitted in the bloodstream and is also very deadly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

This commonly affects people who have cancers that involve the lymph system or who've had treatment involving the lymph nodes.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

White corpuscles are formed in the lymph glands and in some of the marrow cells at a variable, but still prodigious, rate.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

The doctor smiled, but his eyes in their little lymph- lined hammocks did not smile.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck

Elixirs of life, lymphs, and other specifics have their short run, and then join the endless procession to the rear.

From The Arena Volume 4, No. 23, October, 1891 by B. O. (Benjamin Orange) Flower

The blood, lymphs, and all other fluids, the fats, bone, flesh, and all other solids, are of themselves void of sensation.

From Evolution, Old & New Or, the Theories of Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck, as compared with that of Charles Darwin by Samuel Butler

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