lymph
1 Americannoun
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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.
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Archaic. the sap of a plant.
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Archaic. a stream or spring of clear, pure water.
noun
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-.
Etymology
Origin of lymph
1620–30; < Latin lympha water (earlier *limpa; limpid ); pseudo-Greek form, by association with nympha < Greek nýmphē nymph
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The RCS team revealed cancers that were missed, mastectomies that may not have been necessary, incidents of chemotherapy not being offered and surgery undertaken to remove lymph nodes when not clinically necessary.
From BBC
The team also tested the vaccine in a preclinical human model using the Wyss Institute's microfluidic human Organ Chip technology, which simulates a human lymph node in vitro.
From Science Daily
“I had silicone all over my lymph nodes,” the reality TV star told TMZ.
From Los Angeles Times
When you roll or glide these products across the skin, you're helping stagnant fluid move away from the face and towards the lymph nodes, where it can drain naturally.
From BBC
That revealed he had stage three of the disease, which meant it had spread to nearby lymph nodes.
From BBC
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.