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syzygy - 7 dictionary results

syz⋅y⋅gy

  [siz-i-jee]
Use syzygy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -gies.
1. Astronomy. an alignment of three celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet: Syzygy in the sun-earth-moon system occurs at the time of full moon and new moon.
2. Classical Prosody. a group or combination of two feet, sometimes restricted to a combination of two feet of different kinds.
3. any two related things, either alike or opposite.
Origin:
1650–60; < LL syzygia < Gk syzygía union, pair, equiv. to sýzyg(os) yoked together (sy- sy- + zyg-, base of zeugnýnai to yoke 1 + -os adj. suffix) + -ia -y 3

Related forms:
sy⋅zyg⋅i⋅al  [si-zij-ee-uhl] , syz⋅y⋅get⋅ic  [siz-i-jet-ik] , syz⋅y⋅gal  [siz-i-guhl] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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syz·y·gy   (sĭz'ə-jē)   
n.   pl. syz·y·gies
  1. Astronomy
    1. Either of two points in the orbit of a celestial body where the body is in opposition to or in conjunction with the sun.
    2. Either of two points in the orbit of the moon when the moon lies in a straight line with the sun and Earth.
    3. The configuration of the sun, the moon, and Earth lying in a straight line.
  2. The combining of two feet into a single metrical unit in classical prosody.

[Late Latin sȳzygia, from Greek suzugiā, union, from suzugos, paired : sun-, su-, syn- + zugon, yoke; see yeug- in Indo-European roots.]
sy·zyg'i·al (sĭ-zĭj'ē-əl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Syzygy

Syz"y*gy\ (s[i^]z"[i^]*j[y^]), n. The intimately united and apparently fused condition of certain low organisms during conjugation.

Syzygy

Syz"y*gy\ (s[i^]z"[i^]*j[y^]), n.; pl. Syzygies (-j[i^]z). [L. syzygia a joining together, conjunction, Gr. syzygi`a; sy`n with + zeygny`nai to join, zygo`n yoke: cf. F. syzygie. See Yoke, n.]

1. (Astron.) The point of an orbit, as of the moon or a planet, at which it is in conjunction or opposition; -- commonly used in the plural.

2. (Gr. & L. Pros.) The coupling together of different feet; as, in Greek verse, an iambic syzygy.

3. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any one of the segments of an arm of a crinoid composed of two joints so closely united that the line of union is obliterated on the outer, though visible on the inner, side. (b) The immovable union of two joints of a crinoidal arm.

Line of syzygies (Astron.), the straight line connecting the earth, the sun, and the moon or a planet, when the latter is in conjunction or opposition; -- used chiefly of the moon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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syzygy 
"conjunction or opposition of a heavenly body with the sun," 1656, from L.L. syzygia, from Gk. syzygia "yoke, pair, union of two, conjunction," from syzygein "to yoke together," from syn- "together" + zygon "yoke" (see jugular).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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syzygy syz·y·gy (sĭz'ə-jē)
n.

  1. The association of gregarine protozoa end-to-end or in lateral pairing without sexual fusion.
  2. The pairing of chromosomes in meiosis.
sy·zyg'i·al (sĭ-zĭj'ē-əl) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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syzygy   (sĭz'ə-jē)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. Either of two points in the orbit of a celestial body where the body is in opposition to or in conjunction with the Sun.
    1. Either of the two points in the orbit of the Moon when it lies in a straight line with the Sun and Earth. A new moon syzygy occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth; a full moon syzygy occurs when the Earth is between the Moon and the Sun.
    2. The configuration of the Sun, Moon, and Earth when lying in a straight line.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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