lemma (n.)

In LEXICOLOGY, the item which occurs at the beginning of a dictionary entry; more generally referred to as a headword. It is essentially an abstract representation, subsuming all the formal LEXICAL variations which may apply: the verb walk, for example, subsumes walking, walks and walked.

A term used in PSYCHOLINGUISTICS referring to the SYNTACTIC and SEMANTIC properties of a word represented in the mental LEXICON. All features of the FORM of a word are thought to be represented separately. The distinction can be seen in various kinds of speech production ERROR; for example, malapropisms (e.g. saying illiterate but meaning obliterate) illustrate the possibility that the correct lemma can be activated but with an incorrect PHONETIC or MORPHOLOGICAL shape.