syzygy
/ˈsɪz.ɪ.d͡ʒi/ noun
Forms syzygies
- noun (astronomy, astrology) An alignment of three celestial bodies (for example, the Sun, Earth, and Moon) such that one body is directly between the other two, such as occurs at an eclipse.
- noun (Jungian psychology) An archetypal pairing of contrasexual opposites, symbolizing the communication of the conscious and unconscious minds.
- noun (mathematics, linear algebra) A relation between generators of a module.
- noun (medicine) The fusion of some or all of the organs.
- noun (zoology) The association of two protozoa end-to-end or laterally for the purpose of asexual exchange of genetic material.
- noun (genetics) The pairing of chromosomes in meiosis.
- noun (Gnosticism) Complementary female–male pairings of the emanations known as Aeons.
Etymology
From Late Latin sȳzygia (“a conjunction”), from Ancient Greek συζυγία (suzugía, “a union, a yoke, a pair”). This word was recognized as English in 1847 (in its astronomical meaning).
Webster’s 1913
- noun 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.
- noun The coupling together of different feet; as, in Greek verse, an iambic syzygy.
Etymology [L. syzygia a joining together, conjunction, Gr. syzygie. See Yoke, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “syzygy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details