Zigzag

 ( Patterns ) 

A zigzag is a pattern like a row of Ws joined together, consisting of a single line made up of line segments of usually constant length joined by usually constant angles in alternating directions.

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.

• 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.
  (2026). 9781101513682, Penguin. ISBN 9781101513682
• In sewing, a zigzag stitch is a sewing machine stitch in a zigzag pattern.
  (2026). 9780312676582, Macmillan. ISBN 9780312676582
• The zigzag arch is an architectural embellishment used in Islamic, Byzantine, Norman and Romanesque architecture.
  (2026). 9780944940082, Solipsist Press. . ISBN 9780944940082
• In seismology, earthquakes recorded in a "zigzag line" form by using seismograph.

• Serpentine shape
• Infinite skew polygon