different between quandary vs extremity

English

Etymology

16th century. Origin unknown; perhaps a dialectal corruption (simulating a word of Latin origin with suffix -ary) of wandreth (“evil, plight, peril, adversity, difficulty”), from Middle English wandreth, from Old Norse vandræði (“difficulty, trouble”), from vandr (“difficult, requiring pains and care”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kw?n.d?.?i/, /?kw?n.d?i/
• (Received Pronunciation, dated) IPA^(key): /kw?n?d??.??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?kw?n.d?.?i/, /?kw?n.d?i/, /?kw?n-/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /?kw?n.d?.?i/, /?kw?n.d?i/
• Hyphenation: quan?da?ry, quand?ary

Noun

quandary (plural quandaries)

1. A state of not knowing what to decide; a state of difficulty or perplexity; a state of uncertainty, hesitation or puzzlement.

   Synonyms: perplexity, pickle, predicament, uncertainty
2. A dilemma, a difficult decision or choice.

   Synonyms: dilemma; see also Thesaurus:dilemma

   • 1995, Robert Frost, Collected Poems, Prose & Plays, page 475

     To quote the oracle of Delphi, / Love thou thy neighbor as thyself, aye, / And hate him as thyself thou hatest. / There quandary is at its greatest.

   • 1995, Douglas N. Walton & Erik C. W. Krabbe, Commitment in Dialogue: Basic Concepts of Interpersonal Reasoning, page 54

     But we may suppose that John has set his priorities in such a way that the quandary is spurious.

   • 2000, Carol Ann Strip & Gretchen Hirsch, Helping Gifted Children Soar, page 208

     What a difficult quandary for a bright, talented child!

   • 2004, Jennifer Traig, Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood, page 181

     Then I would begin contemplating the next quandary: "Does the Torah say it's okay to portray a hooker, and is a heart of gold a mitigating factor?"

Translations

See also

• doubt
• indecision
• dilemma

Further reading

• quandary at OneLook Dictionary Search

References

English

Etymology

From Middle English extremite, from Old French extremité, from Latin extr?mit?s (“extremity; border, perimeter; ending”), from extrem?s (“furthest, extreme”) + -it?s (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-teh?ts (“suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being”); see extreme. Extrem?s is derived from exter (“external, outward”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h?e??s (“out”)) + -issimus (“suffix indicating a superlative”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-is- (“suffix indicating a comparative”) + *-(t)m?mo- (“suffix indicating the absolutive case”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ?kstr?'m?t?, IPA^(key): /?k?st??m?ti/, /?k-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k?st??m?ti/, /-?i/
• Hyphenation: ex?tre?mi?ty

Noun

extremity (countable and uncountable, plural extremities or extremitys) (obsolete)

1. The most extreme or furthest point of something. [from c. 1400]
2. An extreme measure.
3. A hand or foot. [from early 15th c.]
4. A limb (“major appendage of a human or animal such as an arm, leg, or wing”). [from early 15th c.]

Synonyms

• (furthest point): tip
• (major appendage of human or animal): appendage, limb

Derived terms

• extremital

Related terms

• extreme
• extremely
• extremeness
• extremism
• extremist

Translations

Further reading

• extremities on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• extremity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• extremity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.