Everyday LifeGreek → English
Dilemma
A choice between two equally unwelcome options.
The Greek roots
δίς
dís
twice, two
λῆμμα
lêmma
premise, proposition
Literally: “a double proposition”
The story of the word
A 'two-premise' problem — caught between two horns, neither of them comfortable.
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
In a sentence
She faced the dilemma of staying or starting over.