salient

[sey-lee-uhnt, seyl-yuhnt]

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adjective

prominent or conspicuous: salient traits.

projecting or pointing outward: a salient angle.

leaping or jumping: a salient animal.

Heraldry. (of a beast) represented as leaping: a lion salient.

noun

a salient angle or part, as the central outward-projecting angle of a bastion or an outward projection in a battle line.

Physical Geography. a landform that extends out beyond its surroundings, as a spur projecting from the side of a mountain.Compare reentrant(def 4).

Nearby words

Origin of salient

1555–65; < Latin salient- (stem of saliēns, present participle of salīre to spring, jump), equivalent to sali- verb stem + -ent- -ent

SYNONYMS FOR salient

1. important; striking, remarkable.

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ANTONYMS FOR salient

1. inconspicuous, unimportant.

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Related formssa·li·ent·ly, adverbun·sa·li·ent, adjectiveun·sa·li·ent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for salient

He is also known as El H, but of all his nicknames El Elegante is the most salient.
Trading Dime Bags for Salvador Dali|Jason McGahan|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One salient example was Ilyas Kashmiri, one of the highest-ranking al Qaeda commanders.
Al Qaeda’s Desperation Could Be India’s Nightmare|Tunku Varadarajan|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When I sit down someday to write my memoirs and try to characterize this era, I will note three salient political features.
Karl Rove May Be Evil, but He’s No Genius|Michael Tomasky|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One salient moment in the book comes during a meeting with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
Speed Read: The Juiciest Bits From Timothy Geithner’s New Memoir|William O’Connor|May 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Doubtless, Putin recalls these salient precedents on his own borders when he thinks about Crimea.
Cut the Baloney on Ukraine|Leslie H. Gelb|March 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The salient consists mainly of a chalky plateau full of hollows, each with its village or little town.
The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 4 (of 10)|James Edward Parrott
Wherever there is a long pause there is always a salient change of pitch or some variation in the expression to justify it.
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue|S. S. Curry
Unusual as this cruise is, it is the unusual and unexpected that have come out from it as its salient features.
With the Battle Fleet|Franklin Matthews
The supply-centre within the salient was Fre-en-Tardenois, and it was being raked by Allied guns from both sides of the salient.
Our Army at the Front|Heywood Broun
I will but casually refer to two salient characteristics of the enormities of bygone times—to novels and to the theatre.
Auld Lang Syne|Various

British Dictionary definitions for salient

salient

adjective

prominent, conspicuous, or strikinga salient feature

(esp in fortifications) projecting outwards at an angle of less than 180°Compare re-entrant (def. 1)

geometry (of an angle) pointing outwards from a polygon and hence less than 180°Compare re-entrant (def. 2)

(esp of animals) leaping

noun

military a projection of the forward line into enemy-held territory

a salient angle

Derived Formssalience or saliency, nounsaliently, adverb

Word Origin for salient

C16: from Latin salīre to leap

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for salient

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" (cf. 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

1828, from salient (adj.).

salient

adjective

noun

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Origin of salient

Examples from the Web for salient

salient

adjective

noun

Word Origin for salient

salient

salient