dilemma
English edit
Etymology edit
PIE word |
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*dwóh₁ |
First attested 1523, from Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma, “ambiguous proposition”), from δι- (di-, “having two of”) + λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, proposition”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
dilemma (plural dilemmas or dilemmata)
- A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dilemma
- 1731, Jonathan Swift, An Epistle to Mr. Gay:
- A strong dilemma in a desperate case! / To act with infamy, or quit the place.
- A difficult circumstance or problem.
- (logic) A type of syllogism of the form "if A is true then B is true; if C is true then D is true; either A or C is true; therefore either B or D is true".
- (rhetoric) Offering to an opponent a choice between two (equally unfavorable) alternatives.
Usage notes edit
Occasionally misspelled as dilemna, perhaps originally via false analogy with words such as condemn, solemn, and hymn. This spelling has been reportedly taught in many regions of Great Britain and the United States as well as around the world, and can be found in the works of many well-known authors (e.g. Isaac Watts, Defoe & Goldsmith).[1]
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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See also edit
- between a rock and a hard place
- between the devil and the deep blue sea
- between Scylla and Charybdis
- Buridan's ass
- no-win situation
- catch-22
- damned if one does and damned if one doesn't
- doomed if you do, doomed if you don't
- predicament
References edit
- ^ Michael Quinion (1996–2024) “Dilemma”, in World Wide Words.
Further reading edit
- dilemma on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Silva Rhetoricae
Anagrams edit
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
dilemma n (plural dilemma's, diminutive dilemmaatje n)
- dilemma (between two alternatives)
Derived terms edit
Finnish edit
Etymology edit
From Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
dilemma
- dilemma (between two alternatives)
Declension edit
Inflection of dilemma (Kotus type 13/katiska, no gradation) | ||||
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nominative | dilemma | dilemmat | ||
genitive | dilemman | dilemmoiden dilemmoitten dilemmojen | ||
partitive | dilemmaa | dilemmoita dilemmoja | ||
illative | dilemmaan | dilemmoihin | ||
singular | plural | |||
nominative | dilemma | dilemmat | ||
accusative | nom. | dilemma | dilemmat | |
gen. | dilemman | |||
genitive | dilemman | dilemmoiden dilemmoitten dilemmojen dilemmainrare | ||
partitive | dilemmaa | dilemmoita dilemmoja | ||
inessive | dilemmassa | dilemmoissa | ||
elative | dilemmasta | dilemmoista | ||
illative | dilemmaan | dilemmoihin | ||
adessive | dilemmalla | dilemmoilla | ||
ablative | dilemmalta | dilemmoilta | ||
allative | dilemmalle | dilemmoille | ||
essive | dilemmana | dilemmoina | ||
translative | dilemmaksi | dilemmoiksi | ||
abessive | dilemmatta | dilemmoitta | ||
instructive | — | dilemmoin | ||
comitative | See the possessive forms below. |
Further reading edit
- “dilemma”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02
Italian edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
dilemma m (plural dilemmi)
- dilemma (between two alternatives)
Related terms edit
Anagrams edit
Latin edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Noun edit
dilēmma n (genitive dilēmmatis); third declension
- conclusion from two premises
- dilemma
Declension edit
Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | dilēmma | dilēmmata |
Genitive | dilēmmatis | dilēmmatum |
Dative | dilēmmatī | dilēmmatibus |
Accusative | dilēmma | dilēmmata |
Ablative | dilēmmate | dilēmmatibus |
Vocative | dilēmma | dilēmmata |
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
- Catalan: dilema
- French: dilemme
- Italian: dilemma
- Portuguese: dilema
- Romanian: dilemă
- Spanish: dilema
References edit
- “dĭlēmma”, in Gaffiot, 2016.
Swedish edit
Noun edit
dilemma n
- a dilemma (difficult choice between unfavorable options)
Declension edit
Declension of dilemma | ||||
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Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | dilemma | dilemmat | dilemman | dilemmana |
Genitive | dilemmas | dilemmats | dilemmans | dilemmanas |
See also edit
References edit
Turkish edit
Etymology edit
Learned borrowing from Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
dilemma (definite accusative dilemmayı, plural dilemmalar)
Declension edit
Inflection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nominative | dilemma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | dilemmayı | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singular | Plural | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nominative | dilemma | dilemmalar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | dilemmayı | dilemmaları | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dative | dilemmaya | dilemmalara | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locative | dilemmada | dilemmalarda | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ablative | dilemmadan | dilemmalardan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genitive | dilemmanın | dilemmaların | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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