dichotomize

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek διχότομος (dikhótomos) +‎ -ize.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dʌɪˈkɒtəmʌɪz/

Verb

dichotomize (third-person singular simple present dichotomizes, present participle dichotomizing, simple past and past participle dichotomized)

1. (transitive) To separate into two parts, to classify into two classes, or to categorize into two categories.

   Synonym: binarize

   Hypernym: discretize

   • 1623 December 26, Joseph Hall, “Sermon XI: The Glory of the Latter House”, in The Works of Joseph Hall, D.D., volume 5, Oxford: D. A. Talboys, published 1837, page 165:

     The apostolical benediction dichotomizes all good things into grace and peace.

   • 2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 49:

     Also, societies cannot be dichotomized into hunter-gatherer bands and agricultural civilizations.

2. (intransitive) To be divided into two.

   Synonyms: bisect, halve

3. (astronomy) To exhibit as a half disk.
   • 1837, Rev. William Whewell, History of the Inductive Sciences from the Earliest to the Present Time, volume 1, pages 155–156:

     If the moon was a perfectly smooth sphere […] the place when she was dichotomized, […] would depend upon the sun's distance from the earth.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:bisect

Derived terms

• dichotomization

 

Related terms

• dichotomy