δίλημμα

Forms

δῐ́λημμᾰ (dílēmma) n (genitive δῐλήμμᾰτος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from Ancient Greek δι- (di-, “twice”) + λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, assumption”).^[1][2][3] λῆμμα (lêmma) is formed from λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”).^[4][5]

Babiniotis and the Greek Wiktionary take it as a remodelled form of διλήμματον (dilḗmmaton), the neuter of an adjective διλήμματος (dilḗmmatos).^[6][7] Zonaras records both forms.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

GLAUx finds it first in the treatise On Invention ascribed to the rhetorician Hermogenes, with three examples of the plural.^[9] It is a technical term of rhetoric for an argument built on two opposed propositions, either of which leads to the same conclusion.^[10][2]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed a term of rhetoric and logic, for the argument that catches an opponent whichever of two alternatives he grants.^[11][10] The sophist Romanus and the Suda define it as an ambiguous proposition.^[4][10] Zonaras explains it as a thought taken in two ways.^[8]

Latin took it over as dilemma, used by Servius and Jerome,^[10][1] and English dilemma (1520s, in rhetoric) comes from Late Latin.^[12] In Modern Greek δίλημμα (dílimma) is a learned word; its everyday sense, a hard choice between two equally difficult courses, is a semantic loan from French dilemme.^[13][14]

Timeline

• 2nd–3rd century AD – The treatise On Invention ascribed to Hermogenes uses it as a term of rhetoric.^[9]
• 4th–5th century AD – Jerome uses it in Latin.^[10]
• 5th century AD (probably) – The sophist Romanus defines it as an ambiguous proposition.^[4][10]
• 10th century AD – The Suda records it.^[4][10]
• 1520s – English dilemma is first recorded, in rhetoric.^[12]
• Modern Greek – δίλημμα (dílimma) takes the sense of a difficult choice, after French dilemme.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rhetoric, logic) A dilemma: an argument that offers two opposed alternatives, either of which leads to the same conclusion against the opponent.^[10][2][11]
2. An ambiguous proposition.^[4][15]

Related words

• λῆμμα (lêmma)
• Latin dilemma
• English dilemma

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
6. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
7. ^ Βικιλεξικό, the Greek Wiktionary, https://el.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b Pseudo-Zonaras, Lexicon, ed. Johann August Heinrich Tittmann (1808), Iohannis Zonarae Lexicon, Leipzig: Crusius
9. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
11. ^ a b Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
12. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
13. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
14. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
15. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli