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dilemma

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Dilemma

English

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In the story of Odysseus, a ship captain faced a dilemma when he was forced to choose between confronting one of two dangerous sea monsters, Scylla or Charybdis, leading to the phrase between Scylla and Charybdis.

Etymology

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PIE word
*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

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Noun

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dilemma (plural dilemmas or dilemmata)

  1. 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.
  2. A difficult circumstance or problem.
    Synonyms: bind, fix, pickle, problem, quandary; see also Thesaurus:difficult situation
  3. (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".
  4. (rhetoric) Offering to an opponent a choice between two (equally unfavorable) alternatives.

Usage notes

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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

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Michael Quinion (1996–2024) “Dilemma”, in World Wide Words.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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dilemma n (plural dilemma's, diminutive dilemmaatje n)

  1. dilemma (between two alternatives)

Derived terms

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Finnish

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Finnish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fi

Etymology

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From Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈdilemːɑ/, [ˈdile̞mːɑ̝]
  • Rhymes: -ilemːɑ
  • Hyphenation(key): di‧lem‧ma

Noun

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dilemma

  1. dilemma (between two alternatives)

Declension

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Inflection of dilemma (Kotus type 13/katiska, no gradation)
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
dilemmain rare
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.
Possessive forms of dilemma (Kotus type 13/katiska, no gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative dilemmani dilemmani
accusative nom. dilemmani dilemmani
gen. dilemmani
genitive dilemmani dilemmoideni
dilemmoitteni
dilemmojeni
dilemmaini rare
partitive dilemmaani dilemmoitani
dilemmojani
inessive dilemmassani dilemmoissani
elative dilemmastani dilemmoistani
illative dilemmaani dilemmoihini
adessive dilemmallani dilemmoillani
ablative dilemmaltani dilemmoiltani
allative dilemmalleni dilemmoilleni
essive dilemmanani dilemmoinani
translative dilemmakseni dilemmoikseni
abessive dilemmattani dilemmoittani
instructive
comitative dilemmoineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative dilemmasi dilemmasi
accusative nom. dilemmasi dilemmasi
gen. dilemmasi
genitive dilemmasi dilemmoidesi
dilemmoittesi
dilemmojesi
dilemmaisi rare
partitive dilemmaasi dilemmoitasi
dilemmojasi
inessive dilemmassasi dilemmoissasi
elative dilemmastasi dilemmoistasi
illative dilemmaasi dilemmoihisi
adessive dilemmallasi dilemmoillasi
ablative dilemmaltasi dilemmoiltasi
allative dilemmallesi dilemmoillesi
essive dilemmanasi dilemmoinasi
translative dilemmaksesi dilemmoiksesi
abessive dilemmattasi dilemmoittasi
instructive
comitative dilemmoinesi

Further reading

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Italian

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /diˈlɛm.ma/
  • Rhymes: -ɛmma
  • Hyphenation: di‧lèm‧ma

Noun

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dilemma m (plural dilemmi)

  1. dilemma (between two alternatives)
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Anagrams

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Latin

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).

Noun

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dilēmma n (genitive dilēmmatis); third declension

  1. conclusion from two premises
  2. dilemma

Declension

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Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

singular plural
nominative dilēmma dilēmmata
genitive dilēmmatis dilēmmatum
dative dilēmmatī dilēmmatibus
accusative dilēmma dilēmmata
ablative dilēmmate dilēmmatibus
vocative dilēmma dilēmmata
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Descendants

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  • Catalan: dilema
  • French: dilemme
  • Italian: dilemma
  • Portuguese: dilema
  • Romanian: dilemă
  • Spanish: dilema

References

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  • “dĭlēmma”, in Gaffiot, 2016.

Swedish

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Noun

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dilemma n

  1. a dilemma (difficult choice between unfavorable options)

Declension

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See also

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References

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Turkish

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Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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dilemma (definite accusative dilemmayı, plural dilemmalar)

  1. dilemma
    Synonym: ikilem

Declension

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Inflection
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
Possessive forms
Nominative
Singular Plural
1st singular dilemmam dilemmalarım
2nd singular dilemman dilemmaların
3rd singular dilemması dilemmaları
1st plural dilemmamız dilemmalarımız
2nd plural dilemmanız dilemmalarınız
3rd plural dilemmaları dilemmaları
Definite accusative
Singular Plural
1st singular dilemmamı dilemmalarımı
2nd singular dilemmanı dilemmalarını
3rd singular dilemmasını dilemmalarını
1st plural dilemmamızı dilemmalarımızı
2nd plural dilemmanızı dilemmalarınızı
3rd plural dilemmalarını dilemmalarını
Dative
Singular Plural
1st singular dilemmama dilemmalarıma
2nd singular dilemmana dilemmalarına
3rd singular dilemmasına dilemmalarına
1st plural dilemmamıza dilemmalarımıza
2nd plural dilemmanıza dilemmalarınıza
3rd plural dilemmalarına dilemmalarına
Locative
Singular Plural
1st singular dilemmamda dilemmalarımda
2nd singular dilemmanda dilemmalarında
3rd singular dilemmasında dilemmalarında
1st plural dilemmamızda dilemmalarımızda
2nd plural dilemmanızda dilemmalarınızda
3rd plural dilemmalarında dilemmalarında
Ablative
Singular Plural
1st singular dilemmamdan dilemmalarımdan
2nd singular dilemmandan dilemmalarından
3rd singular dilemmasından dilemmalarından
1st plural dilemmamızdan dilemmalarımızdan
2nd plural dilemmanızdan dilemmalarınızdan
3rd plural dilemmalarından dilemmalarından
Genitive
Singular Plural
1st singular dilemmamın dilemmalarımın
2nd singular dilemmanın dilemmalarının
3rd singular dilemmasının dilemmalarının
1st plural dilemmamızın dilemmalarımızın
2nd plural dilemmanızın dilemmalarınızın
3rd plural dilemmalarının dilemmalarının