Main Entry: di·chot·o·my

Pronunciation: \dī-ˈkä-tə-mē also də-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural di·chot·o·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>