zigzag
English
Etymology
Attested from 1712. Borrowed from French zigzag (attested from 1662)[1], possibly from a Germanic source via (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Walloon ziczac (although German Zickzack is attested only from 1703).
Pronunciation
Audio (US): (file)
Noun
zigzag (plural zigzags)
- a line or path that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions
- one of such sharp turns
Translations
line or path
|
turn
Adjective
zigzag (not comparable)
- Moving in, or having a zigzag.
- 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter II, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, 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,[1]
- 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, 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, 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.
Translations
moving in or having a zigzag
|
Verb
zigzag (third-person singular simple present zigzags, present participle zigzagging, simple past and past participle zigzagged)
- 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, 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.
Translations
move in a zigzag manner
|
Adverb
zigzag (comparative more zigzag, superlative most zigzag)
Translations
in a zigzag manner or pattern
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References
- ^ “zigzag”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Dutch
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
zigzag m (plural zigzags, diminutive zigzagje n)
- zigzag (line in a sawtooth pattern)
Derived terms
French
Pronunciation
Noun
zigzag m (plural zigzags)
Spanish
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Spain) /θiɡˈθaɡ/ [θiɣ̞ˈθaɣ̞]
- IPA(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /siɡˈsaɡ/ [siɣ̞ˈsaɣ̞]
Noun
zigzag m (plural zigzags)
Derived terms
References
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Walloon
- English 2-syllable words
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- Dutch terms borrowed from French
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- French nouns
- French countable nouns
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- Spanish terms borrowed from French
- Spanish terms derived from French
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns