salient
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salient
- /ˈseɪ.li.ənt/ Canada, US, UK
- /ˈseɪ.ljənt/ Canada, US, UK
- /ˈsæɪ.li.ənt/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ˈsæɪ.ljənt/ Australia, New Zealand
Where it comes from
The heraldic sense “leaping” and the sense “projecting outward” are borrowed from Latin salientem, the accusative form of saliēns (“springing, leaping”) (whence -ent), 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.
adjective more salient · most salient
-
Worthy of note; pertinent or relevant.
The article is not exhaustive, but it covers the salient points pretty well.
Similar: pertinent, relevant, applicable, apposite, apt, ad rem, well-placed, felicitous, germane, in point, material, on point
-
Prominent; conspicuous.
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.
Similar: attention-grabbing, flashy, high-profile, conspicuous, eye-catching, glossy, grabby, prominent, salient · Opposite: obscure, trivial
- Depicted in a leaping posture. a lion salient
-
Projecting outwards, pointing outwards.
a salient angle
Similar: outstanding, projecting, prominent, bulging, exserted, extuberant, jutting, obtrusive, projectory, promontorial, protruding, protuberant
- Moving by leaps or springs; jumping. frogs and salient animals
- Shooting or springing out; projecting. He had in himſelf a ſalient, living ſpring of generous and manly action.
- Denoting any angle less than two right angles.
noun salients
- An outwardly projecting part of a fortification, trench system, or line of defense. On April 26 the First Division had gone into the line in the Montdidier salient on the Picardy battlefront.
- A protrusion of the administrative borders of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state into another geopolitical entity, generally of the same administrative level.
-
An overall-convex, protruding section of a sinuous fold and thrust belt, thrust sheet, or a single thrust fault, caused by one or more of: deformation (folding and faulting) of strata and geologic structures during orogenesis, differences in the angle of critical taper during orogenesis, or differing erosional level of the present geomorphological surface.
Orogenic arcs are made up by more advanced segments (salients) separated by less advanced zones (recesses) (Miser, 1932). Within salients, the critical taper is lower, the distance among thrust ramps is larger, and there may be more ramps departing from the basal décollement layer with respect to th
Opposite: recess
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: conspicuous, outstanding, obvious, spectacular, prominent, inclined, striking, notable, remarkable, noteworthy, importance, important, significant, relevant, basic, substantial
Translations
Every language
adj worthy of note
| Español | sobresaliente |
|---|---|
| Français | pertinent |
| Deutsch | hervorstechend, wesentlich |
| Italiano | saliente, rilevante, degno di nota, pertinente |
| Ελληνικά | προεξέχων proexéchon |
| Русский | замеча́тельный zamečátelʹnyj, примеча́тельный primečátelʹnyj, досто́йный внима́ния dostójnyj vnimánija |
adj prominent
| Español | sobresaliente |
|---|---|
| Français | saillant |
| Română | proeminent |
| Русский | выдаю́щийся vydajúščijsja |
noun part of a fortification
| Français | saillant, saillie |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Frontvorsprung, Frontbogen, Frontausbuchtung |
| Русский | вы́ступ výstup |
noun geographic protrusion
| Deutsch | Zipfel, Gebietszipfel, Landzipfel, Halbenklave |
|---|
Talk about this word "salient." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/salient. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. salient. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/salient "salient." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/salient.Cite this
@misc{salient_2026,
title = {salient},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/salient},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
