Syzygy

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Dr. Goodword
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Syzygy

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat May 21, 2022 5:24 pm

• syzygy •


Pronunciation: si-zê-jee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. The alignment of the centers of two (or more) celestial bodies along a straight line, as the moon and sun are in alignment vis-à-vis the earth during an eclipse. 2. The alignment of any two or more distinct objects, ideas, or events that are either similar or opposite.

Notes: As the moon and the Earth circle around their respective axes, they often fall in syzygy. When the Sun and Moon are aligned on the same side of the Earth, we have a new moon syzygy. When the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the Earth, they are in full moon syzygy. The plural of this interesting word is syzygies and the adjective is syzygetic. Is this a word without vowels? No, but it is the only word with three vocalic Ys, beating zyzzyva by one.

In Play: Let's bring this word down to earth where things often fall into alignment for better or worse: "I was delayed by an unexpected syzygy of events: I bent over to tie my shoe just as, behind me, Beryl drew the mop handle back to finish cleaning the floor." Syzygy was very popular in the 80s and 90s in reference to the alignment of ideas: "Although we disagree on many things, Greta and I are in syzygy on the need for counseling."

Word History: Today's Good Word comes from Greek syzygia "union," derived from syzygos "paired", a combination of syn- "together, with" + zyge "pair". The PIE word yeug- "join, union", whence zyge was derived, is also the source of English yoke, not to mention Sanskrit yogah "union", which is used in English as yoga. Join, joint, and juncture all go back to the same wword. Russian igo "yoke", Danish åg "yoke", Swedish ok "yoke", German Joch "yoke", Welsh iau "yoke", Lithuanian jautis "bull", and ancient Greek zygon "yoke" all share the same origin. (We are grateful that Nancy Woods came into syzygy with our website long enough for her to recommend today's most unusual Good Word."
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wordlady1
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Re: Syzygy

Postby wordlady1 » Sun May 22, 2022 4:34 am

This was one of the first words that my grandfather, who was in love with the English language, taught me when I was a child. Mostly because of the spelling.
Mary Kaye Bates, West Palm Beach

Audiendus
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Re: Syzygy

Postby Audiendus » Sun May 22, 2022 9:47 am

Is this a word without vowels? No, but it is the only word with three vocalic Ys, beating zyzzyva by one.
What about polygyny?

LukeJavan8
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Re: Syzygy

Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun May 22, 2022 12:24 pm

This was one of the first words that my grandfather, who was in love with the English language, taught me when I was a child. Mostly because of the spelling.
Mary Kaye Bates, West Palm Beach

WELCOME
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LukeJavan8
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Re: Syzygy

Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun May 22, 2022 12:24 pm

Is this a word without vowels? No, but it is the only word with three vocalic Ys, beating zyzzyva by one.
What about polygyny?
good catch Audi
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

bnjtokyo
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Re: Syzygy

Postby bnjtokyo » Sun May 22, 2022 11:09 pm

I believe first definition of syzygy that defines the term with respect to celestial bodies fails to adequately address the role of a third body. The centers of any two celestial always define a straight line just as a straight line may be drawn between any two points in plane geometry. Syzygy exists only when that straight line passes sufficiently close the the center of a third body as this discussion of syzygy from Wikipedia makes clear

Syzygy causes the bimonthly phenomena of spring and neap tides. At the new and full moon, the Sun and Moon are in syzygy. Their tidal forces act to reinforce each other, and the ocean both rises higher and falls lower than the average. Conversely, at the first and third quarter, the Sun and Moon are at right angles, their tidal forces counteract each other, and the tidal range is smaller than average.[7] Tidal variations can also be measured in the Earth's crust, and these tidal influences may affect the frequency of earthquakes.

This explanation states the during new and full moons, the Sun and Moon are "in syzygy," and, in turn, it implies that during first and third quarters the two bodies are "out of syzygy." Thus the amount of syzygy two bodies can have on a third body varies from a minimum to a maximum.

David Myer
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Re: Syzygy

Postby David Myer » Sat Jun 04, 2022 9:03 am

So what units should we use to measure 'the amount of syzygy'? Degrees? If things are not quite in alignment - say 170 degrees - that does that still count as syzygic?

bnjtokyo
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Re: Syzygy

Postby bnjtokyo » Sun Jun 05, 2022 9:48 pm

As long as we are talking about astronomical syzygy, I think the syzygistic force would be gravity, and that is measured in newtons. (I will leave it to others to speculate on astrological syzygy.) In a three-bodied astronomical system it is I think quite uncommon for the centers of the three bodies to lie on the same line. Looking at the sun-earth-moon system, the plane of the moon's orbit is inclined at about 5 degrees to the ecliptic (the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun), so the centers of the three bodies can only aline every 173 days (for more discussion, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_of_the_Moon#Nodes). Yet we have a new moon and a full moon every month, so the sun-earth-moon syzygy reaches a semimonthly maximum approximately every 14 days.


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