The Spanish word 'lema' comes from Latin 'lemma', which was borrowed from Ancient Greek 'λῆμμα' (lemma), meaning 'premise' or 'theme'. The Greek word was formed from the verb 'λαμβάνω' (lambano) meaning 'to take or grasp' combined with the suffix '-μα' (-ma) which indicated the result of an action. So etymologically, a 'lema' is something that is 'taken' or 'grasped' as a premise or theme.

While 'lema' is a relatively specific term in Spanish, it doesn't have many common etymologically related words in modern Spanish that would be simpler for students to recognize.

English speakers might recognize this word's connection to the English word 'lemma', which has a similar meaning and is used especially in mathematics, linguistics, and logic to refer to a proposition that has been proved or is assumed to be true. Both the Spanish and English terms preserve the academic meaning from their shared Greek origin.