Meanings
plural lymphs · alternative archaic rare lymphe
- literaryobsoleteuncountableusuallyPure water.
- archaicliteraryobsoleteuncountableusuallybiologyThe sap of plants.
- uncountableusuallymedicineA colourless, watery, coagulable bodily fluid which bathes the tissues and is carried by the lymphatic system into the bloodstream; it resembles blood plasma in containing white blood cells and especially lymphocytes but normally few red blood cells and no platelets.
Synonyms: lymphatic fluid, lymphatic liquid
- uncountableusuallyimmunologyThe discharge from a sore, inflammation etc.
She lay face-down, an infected puncture point on the inside of her thigh oozing a faint lymph.
2000, JG Ballard, Super-Cannes, Fourth Estate 2011, page 268
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA colourless, watery, coagulable bodily fluid which bathes the tissues and is carried by the lymphatic system into the bloodstream; it resembles blood plasma in containing white blood cells and especially lymphocytes but normally few red blood cells and no platelets.
Origin
- Ancient Greekνῠ́μφη“bride; spring water”
- Latinlympha“clear water”
- Frenchlymphe
- Englishlymph
Borrowing from French lymphe and/or Latin lympha (“clear water”), from Ancient Greek νῠ́μφη (nŭ́mphē, “bride; spring water”). Doublet of nymph.
More words from French, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans limf
- limffluid carried by the lymphatic system
Arabic لِمْف
- لِمْف (limf)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Bulgarian ли́мфа
- ли́мфа (límfa)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Catalan limfa
- limfafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Chinese Cantonese 淋巴
- 淋巴 (lam⁴ baa¹)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Chinese Mandarin 淋巴
- 淋巴 (línbā)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Czech míza
- mízafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Danish lymfe
- lymfefluid carried by the lymphatic system
Dutch lymfe, lymf
- lymfefluid carried by the lymphatic system
- lymffluid carried by the lymphatic system
Esperanto limfo
- limfofluid carried by the lymphatic system
Finnish imuneste, lymfa
- imunestefluid carried by the lymphatic system
- lymfafluid carried by the lymphatic system
French lymphe
- lymphefluid carried by the lymphatic system
German Lymphe
- Lymphefluid carried by the lymphatic system
Greek λύμφη, λέμφος
- λύμφη (lýmfi)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
- λέμφος (lémfos)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Hebrew לימפה
- לימפה (límfa)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Hindi लसीका
- लसीका (lasīkā)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Hungarian nyirok
- nyirokfluid carried by the lymphatic system
Icelandic vessi, sogæðavökvi
- vessifluid carried by the lymphatic system
- sogæðavökvifluid carried by the lymphatic system
Indonesian limfa, getah bening
- limfafluid carried by the lymphatic system
- getah beningfluid carried by the lymphatic system
Irish limfe
- limfefluid carried by the lymphatic system
Italian linfa
- linfafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Japanese リンパ液
- リンパ液 (rinpa-eki)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Korean 림프
- 림프 (rimpeu)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Latin lympha
- lymphafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Māori waitinana, wētaikiri
- waitinanafluid carried by the lymphatic system
- wētaikirifluid carried by the lymphatic system
Norwegian Bokmål lymfe
- lymfefluid carried by the lymphatic system
Persian لنف
- لنفfluid carried by the lymphatic system
Polish chłonka, limfa
- chłonkafluid carried by the lymphatic system
- limfafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Portuguese linfa
- linfafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Romanian limfă
- limfăfluid carried by the lymphatic system
Russian ли́мфа
- ли́мфа (límfa)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Slovak miazga
- miazgafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Spanish linfa
- linfafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Swedish lymfa
- lymfafluid carried by the lymphatic system
Thai น้ำเหลือง
- น้ำเหลือง (nám-lʉ̌ʉang)fluid carried by the lymphatic system
Turkish ak kan, lenf
- ak kanfluid carried by the lymphatic system
- lenffluid carried by the lymphatic system
Vietnamese bạch huyết
- bạch huyếtfluid carried by the lymphatic system
Welsh gwaedlyn
- gwaedlynfluid carried by the lymphatic system
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with lymph
All rhymes →Cite this entry
lymph. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lymph
“lymph.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lymph. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lymph,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lymph.
Source: lymph on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.