zigverb
Factsheet
What does the verb zig mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the verb zig. 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 verb zig?
| 2017 | 0.072 |
| 2018 | 0.068 |
| 2019 | 0.067 |
| 2020 | 0.066 |
| 2021 | 0.064 |
| 2022 | 0.063 |
| 2023 | 0.065 |
| 2024 | 0.065 |
How is the verb zig pronounced?
British English
Where does the verb zig come from?
Earliest known use
1960s
The earliest known use of the verb zig is in the 1960s.
OED's earliest evidence for zig is from 1969, in Southern Review.
zig is formed within English, by clipping or shortening.
Etymons: zigzag n., adj., & adv.
Nearby entries
- ziczac, n.1844–
- zidovudine, n.1987–
- Ziegfeld, n.1913–
- Ziegler, n.1957–
- Ziegler-Natta, n.1965–
- Ziehl, n.1892–
- Ziehl-Neelsen, n.1892–
- ziff, n.1917–
- ZIFT, n.1988–
- zig, n.1978–
- zig, v.1969–
- Zigeuner, n. & adj.1802–
- Zigeunerin, n.1845–83
- ziggety, int., adj., & adv.1924–
- ziggurat, n.1873–
- zigzag, n., adj., & adv.1712–
- zigzag, v.1777–
- zigzag connection, n.1922–
- zigzagged, adj.1774–
- zigzaggery, n.1761–
- zigzaggy, adj.a1845–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1969–intransitive. To make a movement or direction inclined at an angle to that indicated by zag n., adv., & v.
- 1969
After that We drove back, zigging, cautious.
Southern Review July 760 - 1971
An ant zigs quietly over the windowsill.
G. Ewart, Gavin Ewart Show i. 11 - 1982
What's his course?..Go deep if it zigs towards us.
A. Melville-Ross, Trigger v. 45
the world movement motion in a certain direction change of direction of movement [intransitive verbs] change direction of movement move in winding course- to turn and winda1398–To turn this way and that; to go or move in a winding course. Formerly also †to turn and wind oneself. Now rare.
- wreathea1500–intransitive and transitive (reflexive). To bend or turn in a particular direction; to twist about; to writhe.
- twine1553–To extend or proceed in a winding manner; to bend, incline circuitously; to wind about, meander; of a serpent, etc., to crawl sinuously (also refl…
- indent1567–1644intransitive. To move in a zigzag or indented line; to turn or bend from side to side in one's course; to double. Obsolete.
- virea1586intransitive. To turn; to wind about.
- crank1594–1891intransitive. To twist and turn about; to move with a sharply winding course, to zigzag. Obsolete.
- transferred and figurative. to dance the hay or hays: to perform winding or sinuous movements (around or among numerous objects); to go through…
- maze1605–intransitive. To move in a winding course; to wander as if in a maze. Also (occasionally) transitive with it as object. Now rare.
- serpent1606–intransitive. To move in a serpentine manner; to follow a tortuous course; to wind.
- to indent the way1612–22transitive. to indent the way: in same sense.
- cringle1629–intransitive. Of a stream: to twist, wind. Also transitive (reflexive). rare. Now English regional (north-western).
- indenture1631–35intransitive. To move in a zigzag line; to zigzag. Obsolete.
- circumgyre1634–80intransitive. To turn round like a wheel; to revolve; to make circuits, wind about, circle.
- twist1635–intransitive and reflexive. To pass or move in a tortuous manner; to coil or twine about or round; to penetrate into something with a tortuous…
- glomerate1638intransitive. To wind or twist about.
- wind1667–Of a person, group, animal, vehicle, etc.: to travel in a twisting, turning, or meandering course, as… transitive, with way, course, etc., as…
- serpentine1767–intransitive. To move in a serpentine manner; to pursue a serpentine or tortuous path; to wind.
- meander1785–intransitive. In extended use.
- zigzag1787–intransitive. To go or move in a zigzag course; to have a zigzag course or direction. Also quasi-transitive, to zigzag it, to zigzag one's way.
- zag1793–Used to express a movement or direction inclined at an angle to that indicated by zig, v.
- to worm one's way1822–With adverbial accusative, as to worm one's way. Also of figurative progress (cf. III.10a).
- vandyke1828–intransitive. To go or proceed in an irregular zigzag manner; to take a zigzag course. ? Obsolete.
- crankle1835–intransitive. To bend in and out, to wind, twist; ‘to run in flexures and windings’ (Johnson); to run zig-zag.
- switchback1903–(intransitive) to take a zigzag course like a switchback railway (switchback, adj. A(a)); (Aeronautics) to make a switchback flight.
- rattlesnake1961–intransitive. To move fluidly, quickly, or with a rattling sound; to slither like a rattlesnake. Also transitive: to make (one's way) in this…
- zig1969–intransitive. To make a movement or direction inclined at an angle to that indicated by zag, n. & adv. & v.
Pronunciation
British English
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.
Consonants
b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values
- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige
Vowels
- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot
Frequency
zig typically occurs about 0.1 times per million words in modern written English.
zig is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zig, v., 1960–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.1 |
| 1970 | 0.1 |
| 1980 | 0.1 |
| 1990 | 0.098 |
| 2000 | 0.098 |
| 2010 | 0.093 |
Frequency of zig, v., 2017–2024
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.
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 corpus.
| Period | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.072 |
| 2018 | 0.068 |
| 2019 | 0.067 |
| 2020 | 0.066 |
| 2021 | 0.064 |
| 2022 | 0.063 |
| 2023 | 0.065 |
| 2024 | 0.065 |
Compounds & derived words
- zigging, n. 1977–
- zig, n. 1978–A movement or direction inclined at an angle to…