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salient: msg#00005culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of the English language. Subscribe to Merriam-Webster Unabridged today! http://www.merriam-webster.com/premium/ ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for March 6 is: salient \SAIL-yunt\ adjective 1 : jutting forward beyond a line *2 : standing out conspicuously : prominent; especially : of notable significance Example sentence: The senator's speech was filled with so much twisted rhetoric that it was hard to identify its salient points. Did you know? "Salient" first popped up in English in the mid-17th century, and in its earliest English uses meant "moving by leaps or springs" (such as a salient cheetah) or "spouting forth" (such as a salient fountain). Those senses aren't too much of a jump from the word's parent, the Latin verb "salire," which means "to leap." "Salire" has leaped into many English words; it's also an ancestor of "somersault" and "sally," as well as "Salientia," the name for an order of amphibians that includes frogs, toads, and other notable jumpers. Today, "salient" is usually used to describe things that are physically prominent (such as a salient nose) or that stand out figuratively (such as the salient features of a painting). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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