what is the meaning of the sleeping Z's ??

Question

i've noticed in cartoons and comics you always see a character sleeping with a bubble over his/her head that reads "ZzZzZz"

where did this originate from? what does the "Z" mean? obviously they're sleeping, but does it have meaning?

Answer 1

As a "z" in the sense of the first letter of some word, it doesn't mean that. It is a pictorial/phonetic representation of the sound of snoring.

Answer 2

Ya, snoring-perhaps, but I think. . . that it may also just represent deep-breathing (sleep-breathing) in general. . .

Answer 3

i think they are going by the sound of someone who is snoring