From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Zig-zag)
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Zigzag (disambiguation).


From the point of view of symmetry, a regular zigzag can be generated from a simple motif like a line segment by repeated application of a glide reflection.

Regular apeirogon zig-zag.png

The origin of the word is unclear. Its first printed appearance was in French books in the late 17th century.[1]

Examples of zigzags[edit]

Zigzag path standing out sharply from the dusty terrain.[2]

Lightning and other electrical hazards are often depicted with a zigzag design, with long downward strokes and short backward ones.

The trace of a triangle wave or a sawtooth wave is a zigzag.

Pinking shears are designed to cut cloth or paper with a zigzag edge, to lessen fraying.

Zigzags are a basic decorative pattern used on pottery, and are often seen in the cuts which separate pieces of ravioli pasta.


The zigzag arch is an architectural embellishment used in Islamic, Byzantine, Norman and Romanesque architecture.[3][4]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Google Books: "Word Origins and how we know them"
  2. ^ "Eagle Eyes over Armazones". ESO Picture of the Week. Retrieved 12 September 2013. 
  3. ^ Allen, Terry (1986). "4". A Classical Revival in Islamic Architecture. Wiesbaden. 
  4. ^ Allen, Terry (2008). Pisa and the Dome of the Rock (electronic publication) (2nd ed.). Occidental, California: Solipsist Press. ISBN 0-944940-08-0. Retrieved January 28, 2012.