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

Example Sentences

A full Moon happens when the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides, relative to the Earth - in alignment, known as 'syzygy'.

From BBC

A full Moon happens when the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of Earth - in alignment, known as 'syzygy' - so the whole side that is facing us is illuminated.

From BBC

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

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

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

From Project Gutenberg