zigzag

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive), Verb (intransitive), Adjective, Adverb
• HYPHEN: zig=zag

CIDE DICTIONARY

zigzag, n. [F. zigzag, G. zickzack, from zacke, zacken, a dentil, tooth. Cf. Tack a small nail.].

•  Something that has short turns or angles.  [1913 Webster]

  "The fanatics going straight forward and openly, the politicians by the surer mode of zigzag."  [1913 Webster]
•  A molding running in a zigzag line; a chevron, or series of chevrons. See Illust. of Chevron, 3.  [1913 Webster]
•  See Boyau.  [1913 Webster]

zigzag, a. 

 Having short, sharp turns; running this way and that in an onward course.  [1913 Webster]

zigzag, v. t. 

 To form with short turns.  [1913 Webster]

zigzag, v. i. 

 To move in a zigzag manner; also, to have a zigzag shape.  R. Browning.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

zigzag, n., adj., adv., & v.
--n.
1 a line or course having abrupt alternate right and left turns.
2 (often in pl.) each of these turns.
--adj. having the form of a zigzag; alternating right and left.
--adv. with a zigzag course.
--v.intr. (zigzagged, zigzagging) move in a zigzag course.

Derivative

zigzaggedly adv.

Etymology

F f. G zickzack

DEVIL DICTIONARY

zigzag

v.t. To move forward uncertainly, from side to side, as one carrying the white man's burden. (From _zed_, _z_, and _jag_, an Icelandic word of unknown meaning.)

He zedjagged so uncomen wyde
Thet non coude pas on eyder syde;
So, to com saufly thruh, I been
Constreynet for to doodge betwene.
Munwele

THESAURUS

zigzag

L, V-shaped, Y-shaped, aberrancy, aberrant, aberration, aberrative, akimbo, alternate, angle, angle off, angular, apex, avoidance, avoiding reaction, back and fill, battledore and shuttlecock, bend, bendy, bent, bias, bifurcate, bifurcation, bight, branch, branching off, cant, chevron, chevronwise, chevrony, circuitous, circuitousness, circumvention, coin, come and go, corner, cornered, crank, crankiness, crankle, crankled, crook, crooked, crookedness, crotched, crotchet, curve, curvy, declination, defense mechanism, deflect, deflection, departing, departure, desultory, detour, deviance, deviancy, deviant, deviate, deviating, deviation, deviative, deviatory, devious, deviousness, diffract, diffuse, digression, digressive, discursion, discursive, disperse, distort, divagation, divarication, diverge, divergence, diversion, divert, dodge, dogleg, double, drift, drifting, duck, ebb and flow, elbow, ell, elusion, elusiveness, equivocation, errant, errantry, erratic, escape, evasion, evasive action, evasiveness, excursion, excursive, excursus, exorbitation, flexuosity, flexuous, forbearance, forestalling, forestallment, fork, forked, furcal, furcate, furcation, geniculate, geniculated, getting around, hairpin, hitch and hike, hook, hooked, indirect, indirection, inflection, jagged, jink, knee, knee-shaped, labyrinthine, mazy, meandering, neutrality, nonintervention, noninvolvement, nook, obliquity, out-of-the-way, pass and repass, pererration, planetary, point, pointed, prevention, pull, quoin, rambling, reciprocate, refract, refraining, ride and tie, roving, saw-toothed, sawtooth, scatter, seesaw, serpentine, serrate, sharp, sharp-cornered, sheer, shift, shifting, shifting course, shifting path, shunning, shunting off, shuttle, shuttlecock, shy, sidestep, sidetracking, skew, slant, slip, snaky, stagger, staggered, stray, straying, sweep, swerve, swerving, swing, swinging, switchback, tack, teeter, teeter-totter, the runaround, to-and-fro, turn, turning, twist, twisting, twisty, undirected, vagrant, variation, veer, veering, vertex, wandering, warp, wax and wane, wibble-wabble, wigwag, winding, yaw, zag, zig, zigzaggery, zigzaggy, zigzagways

ROGET THESAURUS

zigzag

Circuit

N circuit, roundabout way, digression, detour, circumbendibus, ambages, loop, winding, zigzag, circuitous, indirect, roundabout, zigzag, backhanded, by a side wind, by an indirect course, in a roundabout way, from pillar to post, circuit, roundabout way, digression, detour, circumbendibus, ambages, loop, winding, zigzag, circuitous, indirect, roundabout, zigzag, backhanded, by a side wind, by an indirect course, in a roundabout way, from pillar to post.

Ornament

N ornament, floridness c, adj, turgidity, turgescence, altiloquence, declamation, teratology, well-rounded periods, elegance, orotundity, inversion, antithesis, alliteration, paronomasia, figurativeness, flourish, flowers of speech, flowers of rhetoric, frills of style, euphuism, euphemism, big-sounding words, high-sounding words, macrology, sesquipedalia verba, Alexandrine, inflation, pretension, rant, bombast, fustian, prose run mad, fine writing, sesquipedality, Minerva press, phrasemonger, euphuist, euphemist, ornament, beautified, ornate, florid, rich, flowery, euphuistic, euphemistic, sonorous, high-sounding, big-sounding, inflated, swelling, tumid, turgid, turgescent, pedantic, pompous, stilted, orotund, high flown, high flowing, sententious, rhetorical, declamatory, grandiose, grandiloquent, magniloquent, altiloquent, sesquipedal, sesquipedalian, Johnsonian, mouthy, bombastic, fustian, frothy, flashy, flaming, antithetical, alliterative, figurative, artificial, ore rutundo, ornament, ornamentation, ornamental art, ornature, ornateness, adornment, decoration, embellishment, architecture, jewelry, garnish, polish, varnish, French polish, veneer, japanning, lacquer, gilding, plating, ormolu, enamel, cloisonn_e, cosmetics (in general), makeup, eye shadow, rouge, face powder, lipstick, blush, pattern, diaper, powdering, paneling, graining, pargeting, detail, repousse (convexity), texture, richness, tracery, molding, fillet, listel, strapwork, coquillage, flourish, fleur-de-lis, arabesque, fret, anthemion, egg and tongue, egg and dart, astragal, zigzag, acanthus, cartouche, pilaster, bead, beading, champleve ware, cloisonne ware, frost work, Moresque, Morisco, tooling, embroidery, brocade, brocatelle, galloon, lace, fringe, trapping, border, edging, trimming, hanging, tapestry, arras, millinery, ermine, drap d'or, wreath, festoon, garland, chaplet, flower, nosegay, bouquet, posy, daisies pied and violets blue, tassel knot, shoulder knot, apaulette, epaulet, aigulet, frog, star, rosette, bow, feather, plume, pompom, panache, aigrette, finery, frippery, gewgaw, gimcrack, tinsel, spangle, clinquant, pinchbeck, paste, excess of ornament, gaud, pride, illustration, illumination, vignette, fleuron, head piece, tail piece, cul-de-lampe, flowers of rhetoric, work of art, ornamented, beautified, ornate, rich, gilt, begilt, tesselated, festooned, champleve, cloisonne, topiary, smart, gay, trickly, flowery, glittering, new gilt, new spangled, fine as a Mayday queen, fine as a fivepence, fine as a carrot fresh scraped, pranked out, bedight, well-groomed, in full dress, dressed to kill, dressed to the nines, dressed to advantage, in Sunday best, en grand tenue, en grande toilette, in best bib and tucker, endimanche, showy, flashy, gaudy, garish, gairish, gorgeous, ornamental, decorative, becoming.

Angularity

N angularity, angularness, aduncity, angle, cusp, bend, fold, notch, fork, bifurcation, elbow, knee, knuckle, ankle, groin, crotch, crutch, crane, fluke, scythe, sickle, zigzag, kimbo, akimbo, corner, nook, recess, niche, oriel, coign, right angle, obliquity, angle of 45 degrees, miter, acute angle, obtuse angle, salient angle, reentering angle, spherical angle, angular measurement, angular elevation, angular distance, angular velocity, trigonometry, goniometry, altimetry, clinometer, graphometer, goniometer, theodolite, sextant, quadrant, dichotomy, triangle, trigon, wedge, rectangle, square, lozenge, diamond, rhomb, rhombus, quadrangle, quadrilateral, parallelogram, quadrature, polygon, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, oxygon, decagon, pyramid, cone, Platonic bodies, cube, rhomboid, tetrahedron, pentahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedron, eicosahedron, prism, pyramid, parallelopiped, curb roof, gambrel roof, mansard roof, angular, bent, crooked, aduncous, uncinated, aquiline, jagged, serrated, falciform, falcated, furcated, forked, bifurcate, zigzag, furcular, hooked, dovetailed, knock kneed, crinkled, akimbo, kimbo, geniculated, oblique, fusiform, wedge-shaped, cuneiform, cuneate, multangular, oxygonal, triangular, trigonal, trilateral, quadrangular, quadrilateral, foursquare, rectangular, square, multilateral, polygonal, cubical, rhomboid, rhomboidal, pyramidal, angularity, angularness, aduncity, angle, cusp, bend, fold, notch, fork, bifurcation, elbow, knee, knuckle, ankle, groin, crotch, crutch, crane, fluke, scythe, sickle, zigzag, kimbo, akimbo, corner, nook, recess, niche, oriel, coign, right angle, obliquity, angle of 45 degrees, miter, acute angle, obtuse angle, salient angle, reentering angle, spherical angle, angular measurement, angular elevation, angular distance, angular velocity, trigonometry, goniometry, altimetry, clinometer, graphometer, goniometer, theodolite, sextant, quadrant, dichotomy, triangle, trigon, wedge, rectangle, square, lozenge, diamond, rhomb, rhombus, quadrangle, quadrilateral, parallelogram, quadrature, polygon, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, oxygon, decagon, pyramid, cone, Platonic bodies, cube, rhomboid, tetrahedron, pentahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedron, eicosahedron, prism, pyramid, parallelopiped, curb roof, gambrel roof, mansard roof, angular, bent, crooked, aduncous, uncinated, aquiline, jagged, serrated, falciform, falcated, furcated, forked, bifurcate, zigzag, furcular, hooked, dovetailed, knock kneed, crinkled, akimbo, kimbo, geniculated, oblique, fusiform, wedge-shaped, cuneiform, cuneate, multangular, oxygonal, triangular, trigonal, trilateral, quadrangular, quadrilateral, foursquare, rectangular, square, multilateral, polygonal, cubical, rhomboid, rhomboidal, pyramidal.

Deviation

N deviation, swerving, obliquation, warp, refraction, flection, flexion, sweep, deflection, deflexure, declination, diversion, digression, depart from, aberration, divergence, zigzag, detour, divagation, wandering, vagrancy, evagation, bypaths and crooked ways, byroad, sidling, knight's move at chess, deviating, aberrant, errant, excursive, discursive, devious, desultory, loose, rambling, stray, erratic, vagrant, undirected, circuitous, indirect, zigzag, crab-like, astray from, round about, wide of the mark, to the right about, all manner of ways, circuitously, obliquely, sideling, like the move of the knight on a chessboard, deviation, swerving, obliquation, warp, refraction, flection, flexion, sweep, deflection, deflexure, declination, diversion, digression, depart from, aberration, divergence, zigzag, detour, divagation, wandering, vagrancy, evagation, bypaths and crooked ways, byroad, sidling, knight's move at chess, deviating, aberrant, errant, excursive, discursive, devious, desultory, loose, rambling, stray, erratic, vagrant, undirected, circuitous, indirect, zigzag, crab-like, astray from, round about, wide of the mark, to the right about, all manner of ways, circuitously, obliquely, sideling, like the move of the knight on a chessboard.

Oscillation

N oscillation, vibration, libration, motion of a pendulum, nutation, undulation, pulsation, pulse, alternation, coming and going, ebb and flow, flux and reflux, ups and down, fluctuation, vacillation, wave, vibratiuncle, swing, beat, shake, wag, seesaw, dance, lurch, dodge, logan, loggan, rocking-stone, vibroscope, oscillating, oscillatory, undulatory, pulsatory, libratory, rectilinear, vibratory, vibratile, pendulous, to and fro, up and down, backwards and forwards, hither and yon, seesaw, zigzag, wibble-wabble, in and out, from side to side, like buckets in a well.