lymph

[ limf ]

noun
  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.

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

Origin of lymph

1
1620–30; <Latin lympha water (earlier *limpa;see limpid); pseudo-Greek form, by association with nympha<Greek nýmphēnymph

Other definitions for lymph- (2 of 2)

lymph-

  1. variant of lympho- before a vowel: lymphoma.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lymph in a sentence

  • These changes are due to disturbance of the blood and lymph supply of the nervous tissue.

  • lymph, then, is practically blood plasma plus some colorless corpuscles.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • By means of the oxygen passed over by the lymph, oxidation may take place within the cells.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • Another smaller lymph duct enters the right subclavian vein.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
  • On its course the lymph passes through many collections of gland cells, the lymph glands.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter

British Dictionary definitions for lymph

lymph

/ (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

Origin of lymph

1
C17: from Latin lympha water, from earlier limpa influenced in form by Greek numphē nymph

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for lymph

lymph

[ 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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for lymph

lymph

[ (limf) ]


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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.