I see that dictionary.com says it's spelled Dilemma... but I have always used dilemna.

Didn't the latter used to be the standard way to spell it??

Capuchin

Never seen dilemna. You are a crazy one.

Capuchin

Looking up the etymology: "First attested 1523, from Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλήμμα (dilémma), "double proposition", from δι (di) + (lémma), premise, proposition"

A quick search for dilemna on google shows at least one account where people have been taught to spell it dilemna, but I don't see a source for it.

Also, looking on some pages that I like to read about common usage errors, they don't mention it, so it must be fairly rare.

RickJ

Yes, Google's got a half a million hits for use of it - and I at least felt a little better when I saw hit #1 was someone else saying they'd been taught to spell it that way. Odd indeed.

Capuchin

I'm intrigued by this, i'm going to see if Mr. Straight Dope has anything to add to the discussion. I'll e-mail him tonight

(Don't click the link unless you want to do nothing else for the remainder of the day)

There's also 26 hits for dilemna on the board

RickJ

You read me right. I love that kind of stuff!!

I'm the type that's envious of the folks that make it onto Jeopardy

valinors_sorrow

Dilemna is like fustrated instead of frustrated ... a recent American invention!

Capuchin

fustration i can understand, it's someone being lazy. It's just that dilemna needs more effort to say than dilemma.

valinors_sorrow

Then what about orientated (based on orientation), instead of oriented? That's a whole extra sylla... nevermind, it occurred to me maybe it really is a word, and it is! Still it always sounds artificially augmented to me. LOL

Capuchin

That's ignorance of the right word, and deriving the word from orientation.

Dilemna is neither from laziness or improper derivation.