Meanings
- plural "zyga"anatomyIn the cerebrum, a short crossbar fissure that connects the two pairs of branches of a larger zygal (H-shaped) fissure.
I am falling apart, the delicate zygon of my brain is opened.
1938, Lawrence Durrell, The Black Book, book 3, London: Faber and Faber, published 1977, page 2231 more example
“The evidence is threefold: (1) as admitted by Ecker, the zygon always appears independently in the foetus;
1896, Andrew J. Parker, “Morphology of the Cerebral Convolutions with special reference to the order of Primates”, in Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 2nd Series edition, volume 10, number 3, page 323 - plural "zygons"entertainmentAn affinity or connection in a piece of music between tones, chords, or phrases, such that one part appears to repeat, to imitate, or to derive from the other, especially when perceived as an organising principle in the music; a zygonic relationship.
Zygonic relationships, or zygons, are depicted using the letter Z.
2006, Neil Lerner, Joseph Straus, Sounding Off: Theorizing Disability in Music, page 1422 more examples
Chopin's Prelude op. 28 no. 6 comprises 403 notes which give rise—in just one sub-domain (pitch class)—to around 13,000 potential primary zygons, 500 million potential secondary zygons, and 10¹⁸ potential tertiary zygons.
2005, Adam Ockelford, Repetition in music: theoretical and metatheoretical perspectives, page 121Observe that the second melodic interval is deemed to exist in imitation of the first through the repetition of magnitude but not polarity through an "inverse" secondary zygon of pitch.
2012, Adam Ockelford, Applied Musicology: Using Zygonic Theory to Inform Music Education, Therapy, and Psychology Research, page 106
Origin
- Ancient Greekζυγόν“yoke”
- Englishzygon
From Ancient Greek ζυγόν (zugón, “yoke”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish zygon, zygon
- zygonanatomy: in the cerebrum, the short crossbar or stem that connects the two pairs of branches of a zygal fissure
- zygonmusic: affinity or connection in music between tones, chords, or phrases, such that one part appears to repeat, to imitate, or to derive from the other
Cite this entry
zygon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zygon
“zygon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zygon. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zygon,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zygon.
Source: zygon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.