Pre-dĭc'a-ment, n.

n. [Fr. prédicament, It. & Sp. predicamento, L. Lat. prædicamentum. See PREDICATE.] Class or kind described by any definite marks; hence, condition; particular situation or state; especially, an unfortunate or trying position or condition. “O woful sympathy, piteous predicament.” Shak.

☞ A predicament, or category, constitutes one of the highest classes or most general designations of all the things that could possibly be predicated of any existing objects; one of the most extensive classes into which things, as named, could be distributed. Of these, Aristotle held there were ten, namely, substance, quantity, quality, relation, action, passion, time, place, situation, and habit. Other philosophers have sought to reduce the number, and have questioned whether the classification of Aristotle was not a classification of parts of speech rather than of real or metaphysical conceptions. The five predicables are logical; the predicaments, or categories, are real attributes, in the most general expression.

Synonyms—Category; condition; state; plight. See CATEGORY.