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Where does the word zig-zag come from?

Question

My five-year-old asked me: “where does zig-zag come from and which is the zig and which one’s the zag?”
Brian, Westminster

Answer

** Definitive **
Name: Andrew, Peckham
Qualification: French music connoisseur
Answer: It’s of French derivation. The French song Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens had a vocal version made, which included the lines “zig-a-zig-a-zag, zig-a-zig-a-zag”. It represents the quick movements backwards and forwards of a violin bow.

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