Dichotomy



GRE 蓝宝 Barron

解释

GRE 红宝书

• n.二分, 本质对立
• ［英］ n.二分, 本质对立 ( division into two opposing parts, groups, or classes)
• ［记］ dicho ( 二分) +tom ( 切、割) +y -> 切成二分 -> 二分;
• ［同］ adj. dichotomous; adv. dichotomously

Webster Collegiate

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>

---