Word of the Day - 10/17/25
syzygy
/'sɪzɪdʒi/(n.): the straight line configuration of 3 celestial bodies (as the sun and earth and moon) in a gravitational system
A solar eclipse occurs during a syzygy, when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align in a straight line.
Word Origin
The word 'syzygy' originates from Ancient Greek. It comes from the Greek word συζυγία (syzygia), meaning 'conjunction' or 'union'. This word can be broken down into its parts: σύν (syn), meaning 'together', and ζυγόν (zygon), meaning 'yoke' or 'a pair', often referring to the crossbar of a balance or a team of oxen. The suffix -ία (-ia) is a noun-forming suffix.
Words with similar origins include those containing the Greek prefix 'syn-', such as 'synthesis' (putting together), 'synagogue' (a place of assembly), 'synchronize' (to happen at the same time), and 'synonym' (a word with the same meaning). Words related to the 'zyg-' root include 'zygote' (a cell formed by the union of two gametes) and terms like 'homozygous' and 'heterozygous' in genetics, which relate to pairs of genes.