zigzaggery, n.

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

# zigzaggerynoun

## Earlier version

- zigzaggery in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zigzaggery mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zigzaggery. 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 zigzaggery?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1780 | 0.0039
1790 | 0.0036
1800 | 0.0031
1810 | 0.0027
1820 | 0.0017
1830 | 0.0011
1840 | 0.0012
1850 | 0.0007
1860 | 0.0003
1870 | 0.0004
1880 | 0.0004
1890 | 0.0004
1900 | 0.0005
1910 | 0.0003
1920 | 0.0003
1930 | 0.0003
1940 | 0.0002
1950 | 0.0002
1960 | 0.0002
1970 | 0.0002
1980 | 0.0002
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0002
2010 | 0.0001

### How is the noun zigzaggery pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɪɡzaɡəri/

### Where does the noun zigzaggery come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1700s

The earliest known use of the noun zigzaggery is in the mid 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for zigzaggery is from 1761, in the writing of Laurence Sterne, writer and Church of England clergyman.

zigzaggery is formed within English, by derivation.

Etymons: zigzag n., ‑ery suffix.

### Nearby entries

1. zig, n. 1978–
2. zig, v. 1969–
3. Zigeuner, n. & adj. 1802–
4. Zigeunerin, n. 1845–83
5. ziggety, int., adj., & adv. 1924–
6. ziggurat, n. 1873–
7. zigzag, n., adj., & adv. 1712–
8. zigzag, v. 1777–
9. zigzag connection, n. 1922–
10. zigzagged, adj. 1774–
11. zigzaggery, n.1761–
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–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by derivation.
< zigzag n. + ‑ery suffix.

## Meaning & use

1. 1761–
   Zigzag course or proceeding (literal and figurative).
   In first quot. with allusion to zigzag n. A.3a.
   1. 1761

      > The transverse zig-zaggery of my father's approaches towards it [sc. his coat pocket].

      L. Sterne, Life Tristram Shandy vol. III. iii. 12
   2. 1797

      > One of those whimsical beings who hated the zig-zaggery of worldly wisdom.

      A. M. Bennett, Beggar Girl vol. III. ix. 238
   3. 1885

      > The zigzaggery of the English Foreign Office.

      Pall Mall Gazette 31 August 4
   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

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɪɡzaɡəri/

####

##### 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 /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### 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.

## Frequency

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

zigzaggery is in frequency band 1, which contains words occurring fewer than 0.001 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 zigzaggery, n., 1780–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1780 | 0.0039
1790 | 0.0036
1800 | 0.0031
1810 | 0.0027
1820 | 0.0017
1830 | 0.0011
1840 | 0.0012
1850 | 0.0007
1860 | 0.0003
1870 | 0.0004
1880 | 0.0004
1890 | 0.0004
1900 | 0.0005
1910 | 0.0003
1920 | 0.0003
1930 | 0.0003
1940 | 0.0002
1950 | 0.0002
1960 | 0.0002
1970 | 0.0002
1980 | 0.0002
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0002
2010 | 0.0001

zigzaggery, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zigzaggery, n. was last modified in December 2024.