syzygy

American  

[siz-i-jee] / ˈsɪz ɪ dʒi /

noun

plural

syzygies

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.

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syzygy British  

/ ˈsɪzɪɡəl, sɪˈzɪdʒɪəl, ˌsɪzɪˈdʒɛtɪk, ˈsɪzɪdʒɪ /

noun

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

3. rare any pair, usually of opposites

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

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syzygy Scientific  

/ sĭz′ə-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.

2. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• syzygal
  adjective
• syzygetic
  adjective
• syzygetically
  adverb
• syzygial
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of syzygy

1650–60; < Late Latin syzygia < Greek syzygía union, pair, equivalent to sýzyg ( os ) yoked together ( sy- sy- + zyg-, base of zeugnýnai to yoke ¹ + -os adj. suffix) + -ia -y ³

Explanation

If three celestial bodies in any solar system are lined up, you could say they’re aligned in syzygy. Often this applies to the sun, the moon, and the earth, but any planets can be in syzygy. To pronounce syzygy, accent the first syllable: “SIZ-eh-gee.” The most common occurrence of syzygy is when the sun, the moon, and the earth are lined up, which happens during the time of a new moon or a full moon. Syzygy can sometimes cause eclipses, and it also affects the tide. If you live in a different solar system, you can still use the word — it can apply to heavenly bodies anywhere that line up straight.

Example Sentences

And then came 2020, when the two MetLife Stadium tenants’ 0-5 starts have for the first time coincided in a grim syzygy.

From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2020

What was striking to an Angeleno about this concert was just how much Tilson Thomas represented a longtime syzygy between the San Francisco orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2019

A supermoon is essentially a collision of two astronomic phenomena: the perigee and the syzygy.

From Slate • Dec. 1, 2017

Equally compelling is the knowledge that you are witnessing a syzygy, an alignment of Earth, Moon and Sun that darkens the sky by an additional factor of 10,000 in the last minute alone.

From Nature • May 23, 2017

In the case of free parasites, a well-developed cyst is secreted by the syzygy, which rotates and gradually becomes spherical.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various