salient

[sey-lee-uhnt, seyl-yuhnt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR salient ON THESAURUS.COM

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).

Origin of salient

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

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

Synonyms for salient

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR salient ON THESAURUS.COM

1. important; striking, remarkable.

Antonyms for salient

1. inconspicuous, unimportant.

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

Related Words for salient

arresting, pertinent, conspicuous, weighty, signal, notable, jutting, striking, famous, impressive, intrusive, marked, moving, obtrusive, obvious, outstanding, projecting, prominent, pronounced, remarkable

Examples from the Web for salient

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
But in the aggregate, immigration reform is not a salient issue for white evangelicals.
Even Conservative Evangelical Support Couldn’t Save Immigration Reform
Jacob Lupfer
July 6, 2014
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
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

Historical Examples of salient

The point of this salient was at St. Mihiel, the other side of the Meuse.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
On the eastern side of the salient there were five distinct attacks.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
Here the Germans had a salient which was long and quite narrow.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
The French did not plan to make an attack on the salient at its apex.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
Plava was in a salient occupying about the middle of the Austrian line.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
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

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.

1828, from salient (adj.).