Zigzag

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Pattern like a row of Ws joined together

title: "Zigzag" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["patterns", "line-(geometry)"] description: "Pattern like a row of Ws joined together" topic_path: "technology/software-engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zigzag" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Pattern like a row of Ws joined together ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Regular_zig-zag.svg" caption="Drawing of a zigzag"] ::

A zigzag is a pattern like a row of Ws joined together, consisting of a single line made up of line segments of usually constant length joined by usually constant angles in alternating directions.

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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/CarpentersRule.png" caption="A 2-[[metre]] carpenter's [[ruler]] with [[centimetre]] divisions"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/NO_road_sign_102.1.svg" caption="Road sign warning for upcoming zigzag turn."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Kinemetrics_seismograph.jpg" caption="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.

References

Bibliography

References

(2009). "Word Origins...And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone". Oxford University Press, USA.
(2011). "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sewing". Penguin.
(2011). "The Sewing Machine Accessory Bible: Get the Most Out of Your Machine---From Using Basic Feet to Mastering Specialty Feet". Macmillan.
(1986). "A Classical Revival in Islamic Architecture".
(2008). "Pisa and the Dome of the Rock". Solipsist Press.
"Seismograph - What is a seismograph?".

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