Saltant

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈsæl.tənt/

Definitions

1. Leaping or dancing, especially in an abrupt or sudden manner
2. A heraldic figure depicted in a jumping or leaping posture with front legs raised
3. An object or creature shown in a posture of springing upward or bounding with sudden movement

Etymology: "Saltant" comes from Latin "saltans," the present participle of "saltare," meaning "to dance." That verb was an intensive form of "salire," "to leap," so the core idea behind the word is vigorous movement through the air, with dancing as one of its livelier expressions. The same ancestry gave English "sally," a word that once meant a sudden rush or leap out of a confined place, and French "sautant," which likewise carries the sense of jumping. The link to dancing is what makes this word unusual. Latin "saltare" kept the idea of springing and bounding, so a leaping dancer and a leaping animal were described with the same root. English took the adjective "saltant" to describe something that leaps or jumps, and it remains a precise, rarely used term for creatures or objects that move in that manner.