A lemma is a term used in various fields, including linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy, to denote a type of proposition or statement that serves as a premise or a form of a word used for indexing.
In linguistics, a lemma refers to the canonical form of a word, which is its base form. For example, in the case of verbs, the lemma is typically the infinitive form, such as ‘run’ or ‘go.’ When creating a dictionary or a thesaurus, lexicographers list words by their lemmas instead of their inflected forms because it provides a more straightforward way to categorize and retrieve vocabulary.
In mathematics, a lemma often refers to a proven statement that is used as a stepping stone to establish a further result. It is typically considered less significant than the theorem it supports but is essential for the logical structure of mathematical proofs.
Understanding the concept of a lemma helps clarify how we use language and build logical arguments, making it a fundamental idea in both linguistic studies and mathematical reasoning.