volant

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The Word of the Day for March 22 is:

volant   \VOH-lunt\   adjective
     1 : having the wings extended as if in flight -- used of a 
heraldic bird
    *2 : flying or capable of flying
     3 : quick, nimble

Example sentence:
     Archaeopteryx, a dinosaur with well-developed wings, had 
wing feathers with a structure and arrangement like that of 
modern volant birds -- indicating it could fly. 

Did you know?
     English picked up "volant" from Middle French. The term 
survives in Modern French as well, both as an adjective having 
essentially the same meaning as the English term, and as a noun 
with several meanings (among them "shuttlecock"). The influence 
of French can be seen doubly in the heraldic sense of "volant": 
in heraldic contexts, the adjective "volant" almost always 
appears after the noun -- a syntax picked up from French along 
with the meaning. For instance, a coat of arms or a military 
decoration might feature an "eagle volant." 
Ultimately, "volant" comes from the Latin verb "volare," 
meaning "to fly." Another word that came to English through 
Middle French from "volare" is "volley," which refers to things 
flying back and forth through the air.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.