n.
Pronunciation: d ī - ' kä-t ə -m ē also d ə -
Function: noun
Inflected Form: 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>