lemma

¹ American  

[lem-uh] / ˈlɛm ə /

noun

plural

lemmas, lemmata

1. a subsidiary proposition introduced in proving some other proposition; a helping theorem.

2. an argument, theme, or subject, especially when indicated in a heading.

3. a word or phrase that is glossed; headword.

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lemma ² American  

[lem-uh] / ˈlɛm ə /

noun

Botany.

plural

lemmas

1. a bract in a grass spikelet just below the pistil and stamens.

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lemma ¹ British  

/ ˈlɛmə /

noun

1. a subsidiary proposition, proved for use in the proof of another proposition

2. linguistics a word considered as its citation form together with all the inflected forms. For example, the lemma go consists of go together with goes, going, went, and gone

3. an argument or theme, esp when used as the subject or title of a composition

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lemma ² British  

/ ˈlɛmə /

noun

1. the outer of two bracts surrounding each floret in a grass spikelet Compare palea

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lemma Scientific  

/ lĕm′ə /

plural

lemmas

1. The outer or lower of the two bracts enclosing one of the flowers within a grass spikelet.

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Etymology

Origin of lemma¹

1560–70; < Latin: theme, title, epigram < Greek lêmma something received, premise, akin to lambánein to take, receive, take for granted

Origin of lemma²

1745–55; < Greek lémma shell, husk, akin to lépein to peel

Example Sentences

A false lemma is a false premise, or step in the reasoning process.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

Mohamed Omar told us how to count symmetries using a clever lemma.

From Scientific American • Feb. 16, 2019

The connection between the discrete nature of Sperner’s lemma, with its spread out dots, and the continuous hairy ball, was surprising to me.

From Scientific American • Sep. 29, 2018

Dr. Riehl’s real favorite theorem is the Yoneda lemma, but she wanted to talk about a different theorem for the podcast.

From Scientific American • May 28, 2018

By the lemma p Op   p we find a.

From Definition & Reality in the General Theory of Political Economy by Colignatus, Thomas

Related Words

• assumption
• axiom
• conclusion
• conjecture
• explanation
• guess
• inference
• interpretation
• premise
• proposition
• rationale
• supposition
• theorem
• thesis