zigzag connection, n.

zigzag-connection
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zigzag-connection_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# zigzag connectionnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zigzag connection mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zigzag connection. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the noun zigzag connection?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1920 | 0.0057
1930 | 0.0047
1940 | 0.004
1950 | 0.0035
1960 | 0.0036
1970 | 0.0025
1980 | 0.0016
1990 | 0.0007
2000 | 0.0007
2010 | 0.0007

### Where does the noun zigzag connection come from?

Earliest known use

1920s

The earliest known use of the noun zigzag connection is in the 1920s.

OED's earliest evidence for zigzag connection is from 1922, in the writing of P. Kemp.

### Nearby entries

1. ziff, n. 1917–
2. ZIFT, n. 1988–
3. zig, n. 1978–
4. zig, v. 1969–
5. Zigeuner, n. & adj. 1802–
6. Zigeunerin, n. 1845–83
7. ziggety, int., adj., & adv. 1924–
8. ziggurat, n. 1873–
9. zigzag, n., adj., & adv. 1712–
10. zigzag, v. 1777–
11. zigzag connection, n.1922–
12. zigzagged, adj. 1774–
13. zigzaggery, n. 1761–
14. zigzaggy, adj. a1845–
15. zigzag machine, n. 1952–
16. zigzag trefoil, n. 1796–
17. zig-zig, n. 1918–
18. Zika, n. 1952–
19. Zilavka, n. 1926–
20. zilch, n. & adj. 1925–
21. zilch, v. 1957–

## Meaning & use

Electrical Engineering.

1. 1922–
   A form of star connection of three-phase circuits, each branch of which is interconnected and contains portions of two consecutive phases.
   1. 1922

      > This affects the magnetising current and may result in an appreciable increase in iron loss owing to flux distortion, and to minimize this effect zig-zag connections are sometimes adopted.

      P. Kemp, Alternating Current Electrical Engineering (ed. 2) xiii. 188
   2. 1947

      > Unbalanced direct current in the half-wave rectifiers requires larger transformers than in the full-wave rectifiers. This is partly overcome in three-phase transformers by the use of zigzag connections.

      R. Lee, Electronic Transformers & Circuits iii. 47
   electrical engineering
   1. star connection 1894–
      A method of connecting (typically) three electrical windings or other impedances so that one end of each is connected to a common node; (also) an…
   2. zigzag connection 1922–
      A form of star connection of three-phase circuits, each branch of which is interconnected and contains portions of two consecutive phases.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zigzag connection typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zigzag connection is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 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 zigzag connection, n., 1920–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1920 | 0.0057
1930 | 0.0047
1940 | 0.004
1950 | 0.0035
1960 | 0.0036
1970 | 0.0025
1980 | 0.0016
1990 | 0.0007
2000 | 0.0007
2010 | 0.0007

Originally published as part of the entry for zigzag, n., adj., & adv.

zigzag, n., adj., & adv. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.