Adjacent Words

Salient definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SA'LIENT, a. [L. saliens, salio, to leap.]
1. Leaping; an epithet in heraldry applied to a lion or other beast, represented in a leaping posture, with his right foot in the dexter point, and his hinder left foot in the sinister base of the escutcheon, by which it is distinguished from rampant.
2. In fortification, projecting; as a salient angle. A salient angle points outward, and is opposed to a re-entering angle, which points inward.
SA'LIENT, a. [L. saliens, from salio, to leap or shoot out.]
1. Leaping; moving by leaps; as frogs.
2. Beating; throbbing; as the heart.
3. Shooting out or up; springing; darting; as a salient sprout.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having a quality that thrusts itself into attention; "an outstanding fact of our time is that nations poisoned by anti semitism proved less fortunate in regard to their own freedom"; "a new theory is the most prominent feature of the book"; "salient traits"; "a spectacular rise in prices"; "a striking thing about Picadilly Circus is the statue of Eros in the center"; "a striking resemblance between parent and child" [syn: outstanding, prominent, salient, spectacular, striking]
2: (of angles) pointing outward at an angle of less than 180 degrees [ant: re-entrant, reentrant]
3: represented as leaping (rampant but leaning forward) n
1: (military) the part of the line of battle that projects closest to the enemy

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Latin salient-, saliens, present participle of salire to leap — more at sally Date: 1646 1. moving by leaps or springs ; jumping 2. jetting upward <a salient fountain> 3. a. projecting beyond a line, surface, or level b. standing out conspicuously ; prominent; especially of notable significance <similar to…Prohibition, but there are a couple of salient differences — Tony Gibbs> Synonyms: see noticeable • saliently adverb II. noun Date: 1828 something (as a promontory) that projects outward or upward from its surroundings; especially an outwardly projecting part of a fortification, trench system, or line of defense

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 jutting out; prominent; conspicuous, most noticeable. 2 (of an angle, esp. in fortification) pointing outwards (opp. RE-ENTRANT). 3 Heraldry (of a lion etc.) standing on its hind legs with the forepaws raised. 4 archaic a leaping or dancing. b (of water etc.) jetting forth. --n. a salient angle or part of a work in fortification; an outward bulge in a line of military attack or defence. Phrases and idioms: salient point archaic the initial stage, origin, or first beginning. Derivatives: salience n. saliency n. saliently adv. Etymology: L salire leap

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Salient Sa"li*ent, a. [L. saliens, -entis, p. pr. of salire to leap; cf. F. saillant. See Sally, n. & v. i..] 1. Moving by leaps or springs; leaping; bounding; jumping. ``Frogs and salient animals.'' --Sir T. Browne. 2. Shooting out or up; springing; projecting. He had in himself a salient, living spring of generous and manly action. --Burke. 3. Hence, figuratively, forcing itself on the attention; prominent; conspicuous; noticeable. He [Grenville] had neither salient traits, nor general comprehensiveness of mind. --Bancroft. 4. (Math. & Fort.) Projecting outwardly; as, a salient angle; -- opposed to re["e]ntering. See Illust. of Bastion.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Salient Sa"li*ent, a. (Fort.) A salient angle or part; a projection.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

The salient points or facts of a situation are the most important ones. (FORMAL) He read the salient facts quickly... ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Leaping, bounding, jumping. 2. Springing, beating, throbbing, shooting up. 3. Projecting, jutting, prominent, standing out, in relief. 4. Striking, remarkable, conspicuous, prominent.

Moby Thesaurus

airspace, area, arrant, arresting, bas-relief, bellying, belt, blatant, bold, boldness, bulging, celebrated, chief, confines, conspicuous, continental shelf, corridor, country, department, distinctive, distinguished, distinguishing, district, division, embossment, eminence, eminent, emissile, environs, esteemed, estimable, exceptional, excrescence, excrescency, excrescent, excrescential, extraordinary, extruding, extrusion, flagrant, gibbosity, gibbousness, glaring, ground, hanging out, heartland, high relief, hinterland, important, impressive, in relief, in the foreground, intrusive, jutting, land, low relief, marked, memorable, milieu, moving, neighborhood, noble, notable, noteworthy, noticeable, notorious, obtrusive, obvious, of mark, offshore rights, ostensible, outstanding, part, parts, pertinent, place, precincts, premises, prestigious, primary, principal, prognathous, projecting, projection, prominence, prominent, pronounced, protrudent, protruding, protrusile, protrusion, protrusive, protuberance, protuberancy, protuberant, protuberating, purlieus, quarter, rare, region, relief, remarkable, rememberable, reputable, salience, section, signal, significant, soil, space, special, staring, stark-staring, sticking out, striking, telling, terrain, territory, three-mile limit, tuberosity, tuberousness, twelve-mile limit, unforgettable, unique, vicinage, vicinity, weighty, zone