Dilemma/dilemna

[melissa]

dilemma.

[melissa]

Could not connect to smtp host : 111 : Connection refused

DEBUG MODE

Line : 112
File : smtp.php


dilemma.

[melissa]

wel that was odd

[Perry]

I bet you say that to all the debug modes.

[Stargzer]

Well, 111 is odd, but 112 evens things out.

[Perry]

Well, 111 is odd, but 112 evens things out.

[Slava]

By the by, did anyone ever get a translation of astrokatastro's Greek palindrome?

ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ

[LukeJavan8]

Just "trolling" the threads, as you mentioned elsewhere.
But going back to the original in this thread: I was taught
to spell dilemma as dilemna, and I still spell it that way.

[Audiendus]

By the by, did anyone ever get a translation of astrokatastro's Greek palindrome?

ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ

Nipson anomemata me monan opsin
Wash the sins, not only the face
(An inscription found on baptismal fonts in various churches. Note: "ps" is a single letter in Greek.)

Regarding "dilemma", I wonder why anyone would continue to write "dilemna" after years of seeing the normal "mm" spelling. Do they think all the normal spellers are wrong, or do they really misread "mm" as "mn" every time?

[LukeJavan8]

probably because there are such silly words
as column, volume, alumnae, etc. Easy to mix.

[Audiendus]

This subject has been discussed at great length in a long-running thread on another site. It seems that many people around the world, and in different generations, have been taught to spell 'dilemna'. What is remarkable is that nobody has been able to find any dictionary or reference book giving this spelling (except for a 1720 dictionary which gives the mm spelling in the main entry but mn in a cross-reference from another item).

This mystery even extends to French; the correct spelling in that language is dilemme, but many native French speakers have been taught dilemne. (Spanish speakers have no problem, as their correct spelling is dilema.)

Out of all the people who have been taught 'dilemna', there must surely be someone who still has a school textbook or dictionary with that spelling. Can anyone help?

[Perry Lassiter]

Glad someone resurrected this thread. Fascinating to "meet" people not currently active. Are you all still active and lurking in the background? And did melissa's weird computer glitches show up on other posts? Inquiring minds, well one at least, want to know.

[LukeJavan8]

I still spell it 'dilemna'. I checked the oldest dictionary I have
which is copyright 1911, and it is not in it. Could be
something to do with student's (in my experience)
that had to do with column and volume, frequently
misspelled.

I don't know about Melissa and whatever computer
glitches to which you refer, but I was unable to log
on to this site for the last 3 days - something about
debugging.

[misterdoe]

I remember being taught MN, then not seeing the word in print for a long while, for whatever reason. Then, it was everywhere as MM. No textbooks, though; that's ancient history. Or ancient grammar and spelling, in any case...

[Perry Lassiter]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the possibility of its originating as a typo by an influential prof. M and N are beside each other on keyboards, so...?