Salient

How to spell salient

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce salient

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does salient mean?

1. adjectiveMost noticeable or important; standing out so as to demand attention.

Salient in a sentence

• The report opened with the most salient findings from the survey.

• She summarised the salient details of the contract in a single paragraph.

Where does salient come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb salire, which literally meant 'to leap' or 'to jump', and its present participle saliens, 'leaping'. In early scientific Latin the phrase punctum saliens, the 'leaping point', described the throbbing speck of an embryo's developing heart, the first part seen to move; from this the sense of something that stands out and catches the eye began to grow. English adopted the word in the 1500s, at first in technical and heraldic use (a beast 'salient' was depicted leaping), and later in fortification, where a 'salient' angle jutted outward toward the enemy. By the 1800s the figurative meaning had settled into the modern one: a salient detail is one that springs forward and demands attention. The same leaping root survives in everyday relatives such as 'assail', 'resilient', and 'somersault', which is why the spelling keeps that tell-tale -sal- at its heart.

How the word is built

• sal- (from Latin salire: to leap)
• -ient (present-participle adjective suffix)