dichotomy

dichotomy
noun (plural -mies) Etymology: Greek dichotomia, from dichotomos Date: 1610 1. a division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities <
the dichotomy between theory and practice
>
; also the process or practice of making such a division <
dichotomy of the population into two opposed classes
>
2. the phase of the moon or an inferior planet in which half its disk appears illuminated 3. a. bifurcation; especially repeated bifurcation (as of a plant's stem) b. a system of branching in which the main axis forks repeatedly into two branches c. branching of an ancestral line into two equal diverging branches 4. something with seemingly contradictory qualities <
it's a dichotomy, this opulent Ritz-style luxury in a place that fronts on a boat harbor — Jean T. Barrett
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • dichotomy — means ‘a division into two’ (from Greek dicho meaning ‘apart’ and tomos meaning ‘cutting’). The word has long established meanings in technical domains such as logic, astronomy, and the life sciences; in the 20c it moved into general use to mean… …   Modern English usage

  • Dichotomy — Di*chot o*my, n. [Gr. ?, fr. ?: cf. F. dichotomie. See {Dichotomous}.] 1. A cutting in two; a division. [1913 Webster] A general breach or dichotomy with their church. Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster] 2. Division or distribution of genera into two… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dichotomy — I noun bifurcation, bipartition, bisection, dissection, divarication, division, halving, separation, severance, split, subdivision II index disassociation, split Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • dichotomy — c.1600, from Gk. dichotomia a cutting in half, from dicha in two, asunder (related to dis twice ) + temnein to cut (see TOME (Cf. tome)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • dichotomy — [n] division difference, difference of opinion, disagreement, disunion, separation, split; concepts 98,135 …   New thesaurus

  • dichotomy — ► NOUN (pl. dichotomies) ▪ a separation or contrast between two things. DERIVATIVES dichotomous adjective. ORIGIN Greek dikhotomia a cutting in two …   English terms dictionary

  • dichotomy — [dī kät′əmē] n. pl. dichotomies [Gr dichotomia: see DICHO & TOMY] 1. division into two parts, groups, or classes, esp. when these are sharply distinguished or opposed 2. Astron. the appearance of the moon or of a planet when half of the surface… …   English World dictionary

  • Dichotomy — An example of a dichotomy is the partition of a scene into figure and ground – the letters are foreground or figure; the rest is the background. A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non overlapping parts, meaning it is a… …   Wikipedia

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