Syzygy
Syzygy (pronounced 'sizz-idg-y', IPA: /ˈsɪz ɪdʒ ɪ/) is one of few words in English that contain three '-y-'s. (The others are mostly technical or scientific, like 'hydrodynamically', 'dactylography' and 'gynaecophysiology'.) This may account for its being listed as 'hard ro spell'. It is also rare, it being a technical word in several branches of knowledge. Its root is the Greek συζυγία, 'yoke' or 'pair', etc (cf. zeugma).
- In astronomy it originally meant 'conjunction', but has been expanded to mean both conjunction and opposition.
- In Theology, it means 'the joining of] pairs of opposites'.
- In biological studies, it denotes various kinds of joint, and one type of reproduction.
- In scansion of poetry, it means the fusion of two feet.
- In Mathematics, it is "A group of rational integral functions so related that, on their being severally multiplied by other rational integral functions, the sum of the products vanishes identically; also, the relation between such functions" (OED, 2020).
This page was suggested by the list of "25 of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language", in the article on "spelling" in Garner, Bryan A., The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style, Oxford University Press, 2000; on line at Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press, under licence to Hull University. 18 July 2006. <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t26.e2017>. Although the list claims "25 of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language", it may reflect the American language of the book rather than AWE's experience of English teaching in Britain. Users of AWE may find more use in our categories spelling and spelling common errors.
AWE shares the confidence of the original article: "Naturally, [the commonly misspelled words] are spelled correctly here".
