Zigzag
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A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular.
In geometry, this pattern is described as a skew apeirogon. From the point of view of symmetry, a regular zigzag can be generated from a simple motif like a line segment by repeated application of a glide reflection.
Although the origin of the word is unclear, its first printed appearances were in French-language books and ephemera of the late 17th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Examples of zigzags
- The trace of a triangle wave or a sawtooth wave is a zigzag.
- Pinking shears are designed to cut cloth or paper with a zigzag edge, to lessen fraying.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- In sewing, a zigzag stitch is a machine stitch in a zigzag pattern.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- The zigzag arch is an architectural embellishment used in Islamic, Byzantine, Norman and Romanesque architecture.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Allen">Template:Cite book</ref>
- In seismology, earthquakes recorded in a "zigzag line" form by using seismograph.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>