salient
pronunciation
How to pronounce salient in British English:
UK [ˈseɪliənt]
How to pronounce salient in American English:
US [ˈseɪliənt]
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- Noun:
- (military) the part of the line of battle that projects closest to the enemy
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- Adjective:
- having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
- (of angles) pointing outward at an angle of less than 180 degrees
- represented as leaping (rampant but leaning forward)
Word Origin
- salient
- salient: [16] Salient is one of a large number of English words that go back ultimately to Latin salīre ‘jump’. Others include assail, assault, desultory, insult, sally, sauté, and also salacious [17], which goes back to Latin salāx ‘given to leaping on to females in order to copulate’, a derivative of salīre. Salient itself comes from the present participle saliēns, and was originally used as a heraldic term, meaning ‘jumping’; the metaphorical ‘prominent’ did not emerge until the 18th century.=> assail, assault, desultory, insult, result, salacious, sally, sauté
- salient (adj.)
- 1560s, "leaping," a heraldic term, from Latin salientem (nominative saliens), present participle of salire "to leap," from PIE root *sel- (4) "to jump" (cognates: Greek hallesthai "to leap," Middle Irish saltraim "I trample," and probably Sanskrit ucchalati "rises quickly"). It was used in Middle English as an adjective meaning "leaping, skipping." The meaning "pointing outward" (preserved in military usage) is from 1680s; that of "prominent, striking" first recorded 1840, from salient point (1670s), which refers to the heart of an embryo, which seems to leap, and translates Latin punctum saliens, going back to Aristotle's writings. Hence, the "starting point" of anything.
- salient (n.)
- 1828, from salient (adj.).
Example
- 1. Financial regulation and trade are the most salient cases .
- 2. The scrutiny in british politics strikes many outsiders as its salient feature .
- 3. This ignores some salient facts .
- 4. Of all the unflattering comparisons , the one with japan is the most salient .
- 5. Financial instability is a salient example .