zigzagging, n. & adj.

zigzagging
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zigzagging_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zigzaggingnoun & adjective

## Factsheet

### Where does the word zigzagging come from?

Earliest known use

1820s

The earliest known use of the word zigzagging is in the 1820s.

OED's earliest evidence for zigzagging is from 1827, in the writing of Robert Southey, poet and reviewer.

### How common is the word zigzagging?

About 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1850 | 0.0036
1860 | 0.0043
1870 | 0.0047
1880 | 0.0063
1890 | 0.0089
1900 | 0.01
1910 | 0.012
1920 | 0.013
1930 | 0.013
1940 | 0.014
1950 | 0.013
1960 | 0.012
1970 | 0.012
1980 | 0.011
1990 | 0.011
2000 | 0.011
2010 | 0.011

### Nearby entries

1. zig, v. 1969–
2. Zigeuner, n. & adj. 1802–
3. Zigeunerin, n. 1845–83
4. ziggety, int., adj., & adv. 1924–
5. ziggurat, n. 1873–
6. zigzag, n., adj., & adv. 1712–
7. zigzag, v. 1777–
8. zigzag connection, n. 1922–
9. zigzagged, adj. 1774–
10. zigzaggery, n. 1761–
11. zigzagging, n. & adj.1827–
12. zigzaggy, adj. a1845–
13. zigzag machine, n. 1952–
14. zigzag trefoil, n. 1796–
15. zig-zig, n. 1918–
16. Zika, n. 1952–
17. Zilavka, n. 1926–
18. zilch, n. & adj. 1925–
19. zilch, v. 1957–
20. zill, n. 1754–
21. zilla, n. 1772–

## Meaning & use

1. 1827–
   See zigzag v.
   Stressed as ˈzigzagging.
   1. 1827

      > The zigzaging which it would be necessary to make in stage-coaches.

      R. Southey, Letter to Mrs. Hughes 31 December
   2. 1861

      > We..climbed a steep zigzagging ascent up the ridge.

      E. T. Holland in Peaks, Passes, & Glaciers (Alpine Club) 2nd Series vol. I. 85
   3. 1871

      > One of these little zigzagging blurs [sc. humming birds] came purring toward me.

      J. R. Lowell, My Study Windows 16
   4. 1872

      > These zigzagging minds.

      O. W. Holmes, Poet at Breakfast-table viii. 259
   5. 1893

      > The irritating task of zig~zagging through her volumes.

      Athenæum 15 July 90/1
   1. winding 1561–
      Moving with twists and turns; making sinuous or meandering movements. Also of movement or activity: involving twists and turns; sinuous; meandering.
   2. crangling 1608–42
   3. glomerating 1634–38
      Winding about.
   4. mazy 1726
      That moves in a twisting, maze-like course. Obsolete. rare.
   5. zigzag 1752–
      Having the form of a zigzag; turning sharply at angles in alternate directions; characterized by turns of this kind.
   6. zigzagging 1827–
   7. switchback 1887–
      a. Applied to a form of railway used on steep slopes, consisting of a zigzag series of lines connected by switches, at each of which the train or car…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. zigzaggery 1761–
      Zigzag course or proceeding (literal and figurative).
   2. tack 1788–
      figurative and transferred. A zigzag course on land.
   3. zigzagging 1827–
   4. Major-Mitchelling 1900–
      The action of Major-Mitchell, v.
   5. zig 1978–
      A movement or direction inclined at an angle to that indicated by zag, n. & adv. & v.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. winding a1387–
      The action or an act of moving in a curve; turning this way and that in one's course; sinuous course, progress, or movement.
   2. crankling 1598–
      A twisting or winding in and out.
   3. crangling 1608–42
   4. indenturing a1632–
   5. meandering 1652–
      The following of a winding or circuitous course; intricacy or convolution (of thought, speech, etc.); an instance of this. Usually in plural.
   6. sinuation 1653–
      The act or fact of winding about, or pursuing a winding course.
   7. serpenting a1684
      Winding.
   8. zigzaggery 1761–
      Zigzag course or proceeding (literal and figurative).
   9. twisting 1768–
      Tortuous course; intricate winding; turning this way and that; figurative evasion, prevarication; also turning aside, or about; rotation.
   10. zigzagging 1827–
   11. switchbacking 1913–
   12. zigging 1977–
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. ambagious 1592–
      Of a path, way, or course: winding, circuitous. Chiefly figurative and in figurative contexts.
   2. windy 1757–
      Esp. of a road or path: having many twists and turns; winding, twisting.
   3. zigzagging 1827–
   4. bendy 1885–
      Designating a road, track, river, etc., with many bends; winding.
   5. winding 1890–
      Of a road, river, passage, etc.: full of twists and turns; sinuous; meandering.
   6. screwy 1891
      Of a track or road: winding. Obsolete. rare.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zigzagging typically occurs about 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zigzagging is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zigzagging, n. & adj., 1850–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1850 | 0.0036
1860 | 0.0043
1870 | 0.0047
1880 | 0.0063
1890 | 0.0089
1900 | 0.01
1910 | 0.012
1920 | 0.013
1930 | 0.013
1940 | 0.014
1950 | 0.013
1960 | 0.012
1970 | 0.012
1980 | 0.011
1990 | 0.011
2000 | 0.011
2010 | 0.011

Originally published as part of the entry for zigzag, v.

zigzag, v. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.