salient

The heraldic sense “leaping” and the sense “projecting outward” are borrowed from Latin salientem, the accusative form of saliēns (“springing, leaping”), present participle of saliō (“leap, spring”, verb). The senses “prominent” and “pertinent” are relatively recent, and derive from the phrase salient point, which is a calque of the Latin punctum saliēns, a translation of Aristotle's term for the embryonal heart visible in (opened) eggs, which he thought seemed to move already. Compare also the German calque der springende Punkt.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.li.ənt/, /ˈseɪ.ljənt/

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• Hyphenation: sa‧lient

salient (comparative more salient, superlative most salient)

1. Worthy of note; pertinent or relevant.

   Synonyms: pertinent, relevant; see also Thesaurus:pertinent

   The article is not exhaustive, but it covers the salient points pretty well.

   • 1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, chapter V, in The Return of the Native […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, OCLC 1167534396:

     With nearer approach these fragmentary sounds became pieced together, and were found to be the salient points of the tune called "Nancy's Fancy."

   • 1895–1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, chapter II, in The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, published 1898, OCLC 699873, (please specify the page number(s)):

     The last salient point in which the systems of these creatures differed from ours was in what one might have thought a very trivial particular.

2. Prominent; conspicuous.

   Antonyms: obscure, trivial

   • 1936, H.P. Lovecraft, The Shadow Over Innsmouth:

     Warning me that many of the street signs were down, the youth drew for my benefit a rough but ample and painstaking sketch map of the town's salient features.

   • 1834, George Bancroft, History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent

     He [Grenville] had neither salient traits, nor general comprehensiveness of mind.

   • 2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide‎, page 2:

     Professionally published dictionaries do not seem to have extended coverage beyond the most frequent and salient items.

3. (heraldry, usually of a quadruped) Depicted in a leaping posture.

   a lion salient

4. (often military) Projecting outwards, pointing outwards.

   a salient angle

5. (obsolete) Moving by leaps or springs; jumping.
   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], OCLC 152706203:

     frogs and salient animals

6. (obsolete) Shooting or springing out; projecting.
   • 1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, […], 10th edition, London: […] J. Owen, […], and F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […], OCLC 559505243, page 50:

     He had in himſelf a ſalient, living ſpring of generous and manly action.

7. (geometry) Denoting any angle less than two right angles.

• salient point

• salience
• saliency

salient (plural salients)

1. (military) An outwardly projecting part of a fortification, trench system, or line of defense.
   • 1919, “General Pershing's Story”, in Americans Defending Democracy: Our Soldiers' Own Stories, World's War Stories, Inc., page 9:

     On April 26 the First Division had gone into the line in the Montdidier salient on the Picardy battlefront.

   • 1978, Jan Morris, chapter 9, in Farewell the Trumpets‎, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, page 193:

     The battlefronts were often no more than a few hundred yards wide, and the salients never more than a few miles deep.

2. (geography) An elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state.

   Synonym: panhandle

   Coordinate terms: enclave, exclave

• salient pole

• sally (cognate; both of these military terms come from a verb meaning "to leap forth", but in different ways)

• Latines, alestin, elastin, entails, nail set, nailest, nailset, saltine, staniel, stealin', tselina

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.li.ent/, [ˈs̠älʲiɛn̪t̪]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.li.ent/, [ˈsäːlien̪t̪]

salient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of saliō