Zigzag
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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.
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.
The origin of the word is unclear. Its first printed appearance was in French books in the late 17th century.[1]
Examples of zigzags
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Eagle_Eyes_over_Armazones.jpg/220px-Eagle_Eyes_over_Armazones.jpg)
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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/CarpentersRule.png/220px-CarpentersRule.png)
Pinking shears are designed to cut cloth or paper with a zigzag edge, to lessen fraying.
A carpenter's folding ruler is a zigzag.
Zigzags are a basic decorative pattern used on pottery, and are often seen in the cuts which separate pieces of ravioli pasta.
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.[3][4]
See also
Notes
- ^ Google Books: "Word Origins and how we know them"
- ^ "Eagle Eyes over Armazones". ESO Picture of the Week. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
- ^ Allen, Terry (1986). "4". A Classical Revival in Islamic Architecture. Wiesbaden.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ 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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)