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?

Never seen dilemna. You are a crazy one.

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.

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 (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dilemna&btnG=Google+Search) was someone else saying they'd been taught to spell it that way. Odd indeed.

I'm intrigued by this, I'm going to see if Mr. Straight Dope (http://www.straightdope.com/) 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

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 :)

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

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

Then what about orientated (based on orientation), instead of oriented? That's a whole extra sylla... never mind, it occurred to me maybe it really is a word, and it is! Still it always sounds artificially augmented to me. LOL

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

Dilemna is neither from laziness or improper derivation.

Just a note. The "n" has never been vocalized in dilemna. Just a spelling thing.

I narrowed my Google search and find quite a bit of conversation on the subject:
spell OR spelling AND dilemna AND dilemma - Google Search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=spell+OR+spelling+AND+dilemna+AND+dilemma&btnG=Google+Search)

Maybe for dilemma its just from needing stronger glasses? :rolleyes:

And I don't sense that fustrated is laziness, like say in the child's pronunciation of "samwich".
They really think its making a connection to the word fuss --- at least all the folks I've ever asked about that one.

And I understand Rick's thinking that its like the word condemn. Same deal there.

I used to call radiators "heaterater"s :D

Heaterater... that's good. I'll tell you one you have that would be a tongue twister for me -- "car park" ha ha.

For the longest time I couldn't pronounce linoleum either. LOL
It came out something like linolaleeeum if I even got it out of my mouth so I learned to say vinyl!

Too bad President Bush couldn't do likewise with nu-cu-lar. LOL

Maybe for dilemma its just from needing stronger glasses? :rolleyes:



If my glasses were any thicker people would laugh at me :p
http://images.buycostumes.com/mgen/merchandiser/5187.jpg

Look! We are NOT crazy! Books that use the "mn" spelling!

"dilemna" - Google Search (http://www.google.com/search?q=%22dilemna%22&tbs=bks%3A1%2Ccdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1800%2Ccd_max%3A1 820&lr=lang_en)