syzygy

Definition

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.

Etymology

From Late Latin sȳzygia (“conjunction”), from Ancient Greek συζυγία (suzugía, “union, yoke, pair”). This word was recognized as English in 1847 (in its astronomical meaning).

Example Sentences

• "The duration of an eclipse depends on the relative positions of the sun, moon, and earth in their syzygy."
• "In 1936 Jung defends his concept of animus and anima by reference to the idea of the syzygy, concluding from the evidence in many different mythologies of the divine couple, united by a sacred marriage, that this motif is as universal as the existence of men and women. He postulates that in the syzygy the archetypal union of the parents is expressed, the mother corresponding to the anima."
• "A finitely presented module is an A-module M given by a finite number of generators and relations. Therefore it is a module with a finite generator set having a finitely generated syzygy module."

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