*lemm*

n. [ L. dilemma, Gr. &unr_;; di- = di`s- twice + &unr_; to take. See Lemma. ] 1. (Logic) An argument which presents an antagonist with two or more alternatives, but is equally conclusive against him, whichever alternative he chooses. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The following are instances of the dilemma. A young rhetorician applied to an old sophist to be taught the art of pleading, and bargained for a certain reward to be paid when he should gain a cause. The master sued for his reward, and the scholar endeavored to elude his claim by a dilemma. “If I gain my cause, I shall withhold your pay, because the judge's award will be against you; if I lose it, I may withhold it, because I shall not yet have gained a cause.” “On the contrary, ” says the master, “if you gain your cause, you must pay me, because you are to pay me when you gain a cause; if you lose it, you must pay me, because the judge will award it.” Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A state of things in which evils or obstacles present themselves on every side, and it is difficult to determine what course to pursue; a vexatious alternative or predicament; a difficult choice or position. [ 1913 Webster ]

A strong dilemma in a desperate case!
To act with infamy, or quit the place. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

Horns of a dilemma, alternatives, each of which is equally difficult of encountering. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; to pour in + &unr_; anything received. ] (Biol.) The basal substance of the cell nucleus; a hyaline or granular substance, more or less fluid during life, in which the other parts of the nucleus are imbedded. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. L. Lemmata E. Lemmas [ L. lemma, Gr. lh^mma anything received, an assumption or premise taken for granted, fr. lamba`nein to take, assume. Cf. Syllable. ] 1. (Math., Logic) A preliminary or auxiliary proposition demonstrated or accepted for immediate use in the demonstration of some other proposition, as in mathematics or logic. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A word that is included in a glossary or list of headwords; a headword. [ PJC ]

n. A leman. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. The act or process of lemmatizing; conversion into a lemma{ 2 }. [ PJC ]

☞ Lemmatization of search words in a computerized Information Retrieval System may allow more effective retrieval of documents of interest to the searcher. [ PJC ]

v. t. To convert into a lemma{ 2 }; to normalize the form of (a word) to that form used as the headword in a dictionary, glossary, or index; as, “ride” is the lemmatized form for “riding” and “ridden”. [ PJC ]

n. [ Nor. lemming, lemende; cf. Sw. lemel, Lapp. lummik. ] (Zool.) Any one of several species of small arctic rodents of the genera Myodes and Cuniculus, resembling the meadow mice in form. They are found in both hemispheres. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The common Northern European lemming (Myodes lemmus) is remarkable for making occasional devastating migrations in enormous numbers from the mountains into the lowlands. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, a muscle + &unr_; skin. ] (Anat.) Sarcolemma. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., from Gr. ney^ron nerve + &unr_; peel, skin. ] (Anat.) (a) The delicate outer sheath of a nerve fiber; the primitive sheath. (b) The perineurium. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL., from Gr. sa`rx, sa`rkos, flesh + &unr_; rind, skin. ] (Anat.) The very thin transparent and apparently homogeneous sheath which incloses a striated muscular fiber; the myolemma. [ 1913 Webster ]