Meaning

(mathematics) A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition..

Definitions by Sense

1. (mathematics) A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition.
2. (linguistics, lexicography) The canonical form of an inflected word; i.e., the form usually found as the headword in a dictionary, such as the nominative singular of a noun, the bare infinitive of a verb, etc.
3. (psycholinguistics) The theoretical abstract conceptual form of a word, representing a specific meaning, before the creation of a specific phonological form as the sounds of a lexeme, which may find representation in a specific written form as a dictionary or lexicographic word.
4. (botany) The outer shell of a fruit or similar body.
5. (botany) One of the specialized bracts around the floret in grasses.

Example Sentences

"We finally did it, but we found the proof very, very hard," [Dr. Conway] said. "I remember my wife and I spending one entire afternoon just working on some tiny little lemmas involved in the proof."

Holonym: lexeme (holonymous sense)

For quotations using this term, see Citations:lemma.

For the second sense, where "word" means "item that should have its own dictionary entry," lexicographers sometimes use the term "lemma," but that has other meanings too, so among linguists the term lexeme is now standard, and I'll use it. For the different forms or shapes that belong to a lexeme we can use the term word-form.

Word Forms

• lemmas
• lemmata

Synonyms for lemma

Antonyms for lemma

Related Words

When Should You Use Lemma?

Use lemma when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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