zigzag-connectionhttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zigzag-connection_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezigzag connection, n.
First published 1986; not fully revised

zigzag connectionnoun

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

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

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