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The wavy line is a common sign for water, watercourse, water surface, and the sea. (The doubling of it, as in  , is a still more common sign for water.) In nautical charts  can represent underwater cables.
In music it is used as an "sound iconic" sign to denote a trill, that is, a quick alternation of two notes a tone or semitone apart. Placed vertically,  , the wavy line in music notation stands for arpeggio, in which tones are played in quick succession, usually toward the higher register: a rising trill.
In some US meteorological systems can mean unstable barometric readings.
As early as about 4,000 years ago the wavy line was also used as a sign for radiation of light and heat. That can be seen in the Babylonian sun sign,  , which is similar to the modern  , signifying radiation. The fact that the wavy line can mean both water and fiery emanations exemplifies the law of the polaritiy of meanings of simple graphs.
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