SYZYGY

syzygy

(noun) the straight line configuration of 3 celestial bodies (as the sun and earth and moon) in a gravitational system

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

syzygy (countable and uncountable, plural syzygies)

(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.

Coordinate terms: perigee, perihelion, proxigee

(Jungian psychology) An archetypal pairing of contrasexual opposites, symbolizing the communication of the conscious and unconscious minds.

(mathematics, linear algebra) A relation between generators of a module.

(medicine) The fusion of some or all of the organs.

(zoology) The association of two protozoa end-to-end or laterally for the purpose of asexual exchange of genetic material.

(genetics) The pairing of chromosomes in meiosis.

Source: Wiktionary

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Syz"y*gy, n.; pl. Syzygies. Etym: [L. syzygia a joining together, conjunction, Gr. syzygie. See Yoke, n.]

1. (Astron.)

Definition: 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.)

Definition: The coupling together of different feet; as, in Greek verse, an iambic syzygy.

3. (Zoöl.) (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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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