Where does “zig-zag” come from?
zig-zag (Indonesian) comes from English Zigzag, from French zigzag, from German Zickzack, from Italian zigzagare, from Russian зигза́г — zigzag.
zig-zag (Indonesian): zigzag
Ancestry of “zig-zag”, step by step
zig-zag traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Zigzag
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Zigzag | A line or path that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions |
| 2 | French | zigzag | zigzag |
| 3 | German | Zickzack | zigzag |
| 4 | Italian | zigzagare | intransitive; to zigzag; to walk in a zigzag... |
| 5 | Russian | зигза́г | zigzag |
via Polish siksa
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Polish | siksa | immature young woman; bimbo |
| 2 | Yiddish | שיקסע | shiksa |
| 3 | Yiddish | שייגעץ | shegetz; smart aleck; brat, rascal, contemptible... |
| 4 | Hebrew | שֶׁקֶץ | abomination, impure, object of loathing |