Zigzag

For other uses, see Zigzag (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Zagazig.

Drawing of a zigzag

A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular.

In geometry, this pattern is described as a skew apeirogon. 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.

Although the origin of the word is unclear, its first printed appearances were in French-language books and ephemera of the late 17th century.

Examples of zigzags

A 2-metre carpenter's ruler with centimetre divisions

Road sign warning for upcoming zigzag turn.

A seismograph showing zigzag lines

• 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.
• In sewing, a zigzag stitch is a machine stitch in a zigzag pattern.
• The zigzag arch is an architectural embellishment used in Islamic, Byzantine, Norman and Romanesque architecture.
• In seismology, earthquakes recorded in a "zigzag line" form by using seismograph.

See also

• Serpentine shape
• Infinite skew polygon