zigzag

Attested from 1712. Borrowed from French zigzag (attested from 1662)[1], possibly from a Germanic source via Walloon ziczac (although German Zickzack is attested only from 1703). Also, possibly from the shape of the letter Z, which appears twice in the word.

IPA^(key): /ˈzɪɡ.zæɡ/

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zigzag (plural zigzags)

1. A line or path that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions.
2. One of these sharp turns.

zigzag (not comparable)

1. Moving in, or having a zigzag.
   • 1820, Walter Scott, chapter II, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], OCLC 230694662, page 20:

     The entrance to this ancient place of devotion was under a very low round arch, ornamented by several courses of that zig-zag moulding, resembling shark's teeth, which appears so often in the more ancient Saxon churches.

   • 1855, Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South, London: Chapman & Hall, Volume 2, Chapter 6, pp. 78-79,

     His thoughts were fixed on one subject, and it was an effort to him to follow the zigzag remarks of his children—an effort which he did not make.

   • 1866 December 10, Charles Dickens, “No. 1 Branch Line. The Signal-Man.”, in Charles Dickens, editor, Mugby Junction. The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round, volume XVI, London: Published at No. 26, Wellington Street; and by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, […], OCLC 781591950, page 21, column 1:

     There, by dint of looking closely about me, I found a rough zig-zag descending path notched out: which I followed.

   • 1912 January, Zane Grey, “Surprise Valley”, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, OCLC 6868219, page 102:

     Then he addressed a keen-sighted, remembering gaze to the rim-wall above. It was serrated, and between two spears of rock, directly in line with his position, showed a zigzag crack that at night would let through the gleam of sky.

zigzag (third-person singular simple present zigzags, present participle zigzagging, simple past and past participle zigzagged)

1. To move or to twist in a zigzag manner.
   • 1912 January, Zane Grey, “Surprise Valley”, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, OCLC 6868219, page 98:

     At the base this vent was dark, cool, and smelled of dry, musty dust. It zigzagged so that he could not see ahead more than a few yards at a time.

   • 2002, Malcolm Yorke, Mervyn Peake: My Eyes Mint Gold: A Life, page 298:

     If the first two novels created a new genre — Peakean fantasy — then this third volume zigzags between several: the Bildungsroman, science fiction, social satire, morality tale and dystopian prophecy.

   Synonym: zig and zag

zigzag (comparative more zigzag, superlative most zigzag)

1. in a zigzag manner or pattern

Borrowed from French zigzag.

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɪx.zɑx/

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• Hyphenation: zig‧zag

zigzag m (plural zigzags, diminutive zigzagje n)

1. zigzag (line in a sawtooth pattern)

• zigzaggen

• IPA^(key): /ziɡ.zaɡ/

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zigzag m (plural zigzags)

1. zigzag

• “zigzag”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From French zigzag.

zigzag n (plural zigzaguri)

1. zigzag

Borrowed from French zigzag.

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /θiɡˈθaɡ/ [θiɣ̞ˈθaɣ̞]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /siɡˈsaɡ/ [siɣ̞ˈsaɣ̞]
• Rhymes: -aɡ
• Syllabification: zig‧zag

zigzag m (plural zigzags or zigzagues)

1. zigzag

• zigzagueo m
• zigzaguear
• zigzagueante

• “zigzag”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

• “zigzag”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014