Etymograph

English

syzygy

Syzygy comes from Late Latin sȳzygia ‘a conjunction’, from Ancient Greek συζυγία ‘a union, a yoke, a pair’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- ‘to join, tie together’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yewg-1‘to join, tie together’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEζυγός1‘yoke, pair’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύζυγος2‘yoked together, paired’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσυζυγία3suzugía‘a union, a yoke, a pair’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsȳzygia3‘a conjunction’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1900syzygy3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σύζυγος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek συζυγία
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English syzygy
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1900, Karl Alfred von Zittel: “When two or more arm-joints meet transversely by a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yewg-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σύζυγος‘to join, tie together’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEζυγόςWiktionary, Ancient Greek σύζυγος‘yoke, pair’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύζυγοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek συζυγία‘yoked together, paired’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσυζυγίαWiktionary, English syzygysuzugía‘a union, a yoke, a pair’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsȳzygiaWiktionary, English syzygy‘a conjunction’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1900syzygyWiktionary, English syzygy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1900, Karl Alfred von Zittel: “When two or more arm-joints meet transversely by a…”

The story

This word was recognized as English in 1847 (in its astronomical meaning).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *yewg- ‘to join, tie together’

join, yoga, junction, adjunct, yogi, jodi, yoke, juncture, conjugate, jugular, conjugation, subjugate, yojana, yuga, zygote, 41 more

Today it means

noun 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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “syzygy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek σύζυγος, Ancient Greek συζυγία. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *yewg- / syzygy

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