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.
Archaic. the sap of a plant.
Archaic. a stream or spring of clear, pure water.
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-.
1620–30; < Latin lympha water (earlier *limpa; see limpid); pseudo-Greek form, by association with nympha < Greek nýmphē nymph
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which spread to his lung and lymph nodes, in April 2025.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 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
"They'll coax excess lymph fluid from your swollen tissues toward your lymph nodes, where the lymph can reabsorb," he says - adding lymph nodes are found in the armpits, neck and groin.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
There, they discovered organized immune structures resembling those normally found in lymph nodes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Deaths from all types of malignancies of blood and lymph totaled 25,400, increasing sharply from the 16,690 figure of 1950.
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
