Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “salient” come from?

Salient comes from Latin saliens, the present participle of salio meaning "to jump," derived from sal, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sel- and ser-.

salient (English): Worthy of note; pertinent or relevant; Prominent;...

Definitions

  1. Worthy of note; pertinent or relevant; Prominent;...

Ancestry of “salient”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsalientemaccusative masculine singular of saliēns;...
2Latinsalienssalting
3Latinsāl—
4Proto-Italicsāls—
5Proto-Indo-European*sḗh₂l—

Words derived from “salient”

  • saliency
  • saliently
  • nonsalient
  • countersalient
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l →