Greek 'di-' (two) + 'lemma' (premise) — originally a logical trap with two unfavorable premises, now any difficult choice.
A situation in which a difficult choice must be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones.
From Late Latin 'dilemma,' from Greek 'dilēmma' (a double proposition, an ambiguous argument), from 'di-' (two, double) and 'lēmma' (premise, assumption, anything taken for granted), from 'lambanein' (to take, to grasp). In Greek rhetoric and logic, a dilemma was a form of argument that presented an opponent with two premises, both of which led to an unfavourable conclusion — a logical trap. The broader English
Logicians sometimes insist that a true dilemma must involve exactly two alternatives (since 'di-' means two). A choice among three undesirable options is technically a 'trilemma,' and among many, a 'polylemma.' The 'Euthyphro dilemma' — is something good because God commands it, or does God command it because it is good? — has puzzled philosophers since Plato posed it in the fourth century