lemma
/ˈlɛmə/
"lemma" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lemma” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,896. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #39,896
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 16
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lemma · lemma · English
lemma · rank #39,896 · 5 variants · 16 confusables
- FREQ-MID #39,896
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH Lexie
Nearest frequency peer: Lexie (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “lemma”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- lasso
lasso
60,110 corpus weight
- launder
launder
60,108 corpus weight
- lemma
lemma
60,105 corpus weight
- Lexie
Lexie
60,104 corpus weight
- Lian
Lian
60,103 corpus weight
- Lonsdale
Lonsdale
60,100 corpus weight
What this shows “lemma” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lemma |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlɛmə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #39,896 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 16 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lemma”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around lemma (IPA /ˈlɛmə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #39,896 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for lemma, with forms such as "elmma", "lema", and "lemam". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "Lena", "lima", "loma", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, assumption”), from the same root as λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”). The correct English form is lemma, spelled L-E-M-M-A.
Definition
- 1A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition.
- 2A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition.
- 3The 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.
- 4The 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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lemma appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"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)
Etymology
From Ancient Greek λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, assumption”), from the same root as λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”).
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- elmma
- lema
- lemam
- llemma
- lmema
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lemma - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lemma", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).