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volant

[ voh-luh nt ]
/ ˈvoʊ lənt /
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adjective

engaged in or having the power of flight.
moving lightly; nimble.

noun

Also called volant piece. Armor. a reinforcing piece for the brow of a helmet.

RELATED WORDS

floating, aerial, soaring, express, mobile, fleet, drifting, gliding, waving, streaming, flapping, winging, mercurial, speedy, aeronautical, airborne, avian, volar, volitant

Nearby words

  1. vol-au-vent,
  2. vol.,
  3. vola,
  4. volacious,
  5. volans,
  6. volante,
  7. volantis,
  8. volapuk,
  9. volapük,
  10. volar

Origin of volant

1500–10; < French, present participle of voler to fly < Latin volāre; see -ant
Related formsnon·vo·lant, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for volant

British Dictionary definitions for volant

volant

/ (ˈvəʊlənt) /

adjective

(usually postpositive) heraldry in a flying position
rare flying or capable of flight
poetic moving lightly or agilely; nimble

Word Origin for volant

C16: from French: flying, from voler to fly, from Latin volāre
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 volant

volant

adj.

"flying," c.1500, from Middle French, from Latin volantem (nominative volans), present participle of volare "to fly," of unknown origin. French voler, literally "to fly," in 16c. acquired a sense of "to steal," via the transitive meaning "to make fly."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper