lemma

1 of 2

noun (1)

lem·​ma ˈle-mə 

plural lemmas or lemmata ˈle-mə-tə 

1

: an auxiliary proposition used in the demonstration of another proposition

2

: the argument or theme of a composition prefixed as a title or introduction

also : the heading or theme of a comment or note on a text

3

: a glossed word or phrase

lemma

2 of 2

noun (2)

: the lower of the two bracts enclosing the flower in the spikelet of grasses

Examples of lemma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This property is implied by another statement called Zorn’s lemma and sounds abstract, but physicists and mathematicians refer to it time and again. —Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024

As a result, mathematicians tended to keep their discoveries to themselves, deploying their theorems, corollaries and lemmas only to win intellectual battles. —Marc-Olivier Renou, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2023

In the 1970s, Lovász collaborated with Erdős to devise a complementary technique, called the Lovász local lemma, that works for proving the existence of graphs that are very rare. —Quanta Magazine, 17 Mar. 2021

The consequence of this lemma is that any object in any category is entirely determined by its relation to the other objects in the category as encoded by the transformations to or from this object. —Emily Riehl, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2021

While working on one of them, Morel realized her proof called for a lemma — a type of short steppingstone result — that mathlib didn’t have. —Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Latin, from Greek lēmma thing taken, assumption, from lambanein to take — more at latch

Noun (2)

Greek, husk, from lepein to peel — more at leper

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1906, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing lemma

• Zorn's lemma