saltatory
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or adapted for saltation.
-
proceeding by abrupt movements.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of saltatory
1615–25; < Latin saltātōrius, equivalent to saltā ( re ) to dance + -tōrius -tory 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some hypotheses that have been proposed to account for biological diversity are saltatory, involving sudden changes, rather than gradualist.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
This ‘jumping’ of the action potential from one node to the next is called saltatory conduction.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
In myelinated axons, propagation is described as saltatory because voltage-gated channels are only found at the nodes of Ranvier and the electrical events seem to “jump” from one node to the next.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Propagation along an unmyelinated axon is referred to as continuous conduction; along the length of a myelinated axon, it is saltatory conduction.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Even if saltatory variations do occur, we cannot assume that these have ever led to forms which are capable of survival under the conditions of wild life.
From Evolution in Modern Thought by Weismann, August
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
