Etymology

lema

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Today it means: The secretion of the tarsal glands of the eye. Full definition →

Ancient Greek λήμη
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromλήμη“substance that gathers in the corner of the eye; rheum”
  2. English todaylema

First coined 1789, from Ancient Greek λήμη (lḗmē, “substance that gathers in the corner of the eye; rheum”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.