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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Date: Sat Jun 20 00:04:24 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lemma lemma (LEM-uh) noun [plural lemmas or lemmata (LEM-uh-tuh)]
1. A subsidiary proposition assumed to be valid and used to demonstrate a principal proposition.
2. A theme, an argument, or a subject indicated in a title.
3. A word or phrase treated in a glossary or similar listing.
[Latin lemma, from Greek, from lambanein, to take.]
lemma (LEM-uh) noun
Botany. The outer or lower of the two bracts that enclose the flower in a grass spikelet.
[Greek, husk, from lepein, to peel.] I also remember calculus prof using "lemma" as name for a small part of a proof, similar to an axiom in geometry.
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I mainly know lemma as a term in lexicography. It's the form of a word used to mark an entry: e.g., in English we use the singular form of a noun or the infinitival form of a verb (sans 'to'). In Latin, the nominative and geneitive singulars of nouns are used: the former for the entry proper, and the latter for determining which declension the noun belongs to.
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