desultory
pronunciation
How to pronounce desultory in British English:
UK [ˈdesəltri]
How to pronounce desultory in American English:
US [ˈdesəltɔri]
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- Adjective:
- marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another
Word Origin
- desultory
- desultory: [16] Latin dēsultor designated a circus trick-rider who jumped from the back of one horse to another while they were galloping along (it was a derivative of dēsilīre, a compound verb formed from dē- ‘down’ and salīre ‘jump’, source of or related to English assail, assault, insult, salacious, salient, and sally). From it was derived an adjective dēsultōrius ‘jumping from one thing to another like a dēsultor’, hence ‘superficial’, and eventually ‘unmethodical, irregular’, the sense which survives in English.=> assail, assault, insult, salacious, salient
- desultory (adj.)
- 1580s, "skipping about," from Latin desultorius "hasty, casual, superficial," adjective form of desultor (n.) "a rider in the circus who jumps from one horse to another while they are in gallop," from desul-, stem of desilire "jump down," from de- "down" (see de-) + salire "to jump, leap" (see salient (adj.)). Sense of "irregular, without aim or method" is c. 1740. Related: Desultorily; desultoriness.
Example
- 1. Hold a pen to write our memories , desultory writing .
- 2. But the implementation of this decision has been desultory .
- 3. The two palestinian factions , bitter rivals for years , have made various desultory efforts to settle their differences .
- 4. He broke into a desultory chat with me over his business affairs .
- 5. Judith now entered into a desultory discourse with deerslayer .