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?
| 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
- 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–
- zigzagging, n. & adj.1827–
- zigzaggy, adj.a1845–
- zigzag machine, n.1952–
- zigzag trefoil, n.1796–
- zig-zig, n.1918–
- Zika, n.1952–
- Zilavka, n.1926–
- zilch, n. & adj.1925–
- zilch, v.1957–
- zill, n.1754–
- zilla, n.1772–
Meaning & use
- 1827–See zigzag v.Stressed as ˈzigzagging.
- 1827
The zigzaging which it would be necessary to make in stage-coaches.
R. Southey, Letter to Mrs. Hughes 31 December - 1861
We..climbed a steep zigzagging ascent up the ridge.
E. T. Holland in Peaks, Passes, & Glaciers (Alpine Club) 2nd Series vol. I. 85 - 1871
One of these little zigzagging blurs [sc. humming birds] came purring toward me.
J. R. Lowell, My Study Windows 16 - 1872
These zigzagging minds.
O. W. Holmes, Poet at Breakfast-table viii. 259 - 1893
The irritating task of zig~zagging through her volumes.
Athenæum 15 July 90/1
the world movement motion in a certain direction change of direction of movement [adjectives] moving in winding course- winding1561–Moving with twists and turns; making sinuous or meandering movements. Also of movement or activity: involving twists and turns; sinuous; meandering.
- crangling1608–42
- glomerating1634–38Winding about.
- mazy1726That moves in a twisting, maze-like course. Obsolete. rare.
- zigzag1752–Having the form of a zigzag; turning sharply at angles in alternate directions; characterized by turns of this kind.
- zigzagging1827–
- switchback1887–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…
- zigzaggery1761–Zigzag course or proceeding (literal and figurative).
- tack1788–figurative and transferred. A zigzag course on land.
- zigzagging1827–
- Major-Mitchelling1900–The action of Major-Mitchell, v.
- zig1978–A movement or direction inclined at an angle to that indicated by zag, n. & adv. & v.
the world movement motion in a certain direction change of direction of movement [nouns] indirectness of course moving in winding course- windinga1387–The action or an act of moving in a curve; turning this way and that in one's course; sinuous course, progress, or movement.
- crankling1598–A twisting or winding in and out.
- crangling1608–42
- indenturinga1632–
- meandering1652–The following of a winding or circuitous course; intricacy or convolution (of thought, speech, etc.); an instance of this. Usually in plural.
- sinuation1653–The act or fact of winding about, or pursuing a winding course.
- serpentinga1684Winding.
- zigzaggery1761–Zigzag course or proceeding (literal and figurative).
- twisting1768–Tortuous course; intricate winding; turning this way and that; figurative evasion, prevarication; also turning aside, or about; rotation.
- zigzagging1827–
- switchbacking1913–
- zigging1977–
- ambagious1592–Of a path, way, or course: winding, circuitous. Chiefly figurative and in figurative contexts.
- windy1757–Esp. of a road or path: having many twists and turns; winding, twisting.
- zigzagging1827–
- bendy1885–Designating a road, track, river, etc., with many bends; winding.
- winding1890–Of a road, river, passage, etc.: full of twists and turns; sinuous; meandering.
- screwy1891Of a track or road: winding. Obsolete. rare.
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 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 |