syzygy

[ siz-i-jee ]

noun,plural syz·y·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.

  1. any two related things, either alike or opposite.

Origin of syzygy

1
1650–60; <Late Latin syzygia<Greek syzygía union, pair, equivalent to sýzyg(os) yoked together (sy-sy- + zyg-, base of zeugnýnai to yoke1 + -os adj. suffix) + -ia-y3

Other words from syzygy

  • sy·zyg·i·al [si-zij-ee-uhl], /sɪˈzɪdʒ i əl/, syz·y·get·ic [siz-i-jet-ik], /ˌsɪz ɪˈdʒɛt ɪk/, syz·y·gal [siz-i-guhl], /ˈsɪz ɪ gəl/, adjective

Words Nearby syzygy

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How to use syzygy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for syzygy

syzygy

/ (ˈsɪzɪdʒɪ) /


nounplural -gies
  1. either of the two positions (conjunction or opposition) of a celestial body when sun, earth, and the body lie in a straight line: the moon is at syzygy when full

  2. (in classical prosody) a metrical unit of two feet

  1. rare any pair, usually of opposites

  2. biology the aggregation in a mass of certain protozoans, esp when occurring before sexual reproduction

Origin of syzygy

1
C17: from Late Latin syzygia, from Greek suzugia, from suzugos yoked together, from syn- + zugon a yoke

Derived forms of syzygy

  • syzygial (sɪˈzɪdʒɪəl), syzygetic (ˌsɪzɪˈdʒɛtɪk) or syzygal (ˈsɪzɪɡəl), adjective
  • syzygetically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for syzygy

syzygy

[ sĭzə-jē ]


  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.

    • 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.

    • The configuration of the Sun, Moon, and Earth when lying in a straight line.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.