saltatory
adjUK /ˈsæltət(ə)ɹi/ · US /ˈsæltəˌtɔɹi/
Etymology Borrowed from Latin saltātōrius.
1
Of or pertaining to leaps or leaping.
- Near-synonym: jumpy
- When we had all laughed and applauded till we were faint, Starling, not to be outdone, favoured us with a more modern saltatory entertainment in the Lancashire clog manner — to the best of my belief, the longest dance ever performed […]1859, Charles Dickens, The Haunted House:
2
Proceeding by leaps rather than by smooth, continuous variation.
- Near-synonyms: discontinuous, jerky, jumpy
- Derived terms
- microsaltatory
- Related terms
- desultory, salient, somersault