desultory
English edit
Etymology edit
From Latin dēsultōrius (“hasty, casual, superficial”), from dēsultor (“a circus rider who jumped from one galloping horse to another”), from dēsiliō (“jump down”), from dē (“down”) + saliō (“jump, leap”).[1]
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdɛs.əl.t(ə).ɹi/, /ˈdɛz.əl.t(ə).ɹi/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈdɛs.əlˌtɔɹ.i/, /ˈdɛz.əlˌtɔɹ.i/
,Audio (US): (file) Audio (US): (file)
Adjective edit
desultory (comparative more desultory, superlative most desultory)
- Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence.
- Synonyms: disconnected, unmethodical, aimless, quodlibetic, (in conversation) quodlibetical
- He wandered round, cleaning up in a desultory way.
- I teach a class of desultory minds.
- 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 25, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:
- To mend the matter, Hamlet's aunt had the family failing of indulging in soliloquy, and held forth in a desultory manner, by herself, on every topic that was introduced.
- 2005, Tony Judt, “The Coming of the Cold War”, in Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945, London: Vintage Books, published 2010, →ISBN:
- The Benelux Customs Union came into effect on January 1st 1948, and there followed desultory conversations between the Benelux countries, France and Italy over projects to extend such cooperation across a larger space.
- 2010, Jennifer Egan, “You (Plural)”, in A Visit from the Goon Squad:
- ‘Your desultory twenties,’ my mother calls my lost time, trying to make it sound reasonable and fun, but it started before I was twenty and lasted much longer.
- Out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject.
- I made a desultory remark while I was talking to my friend.
- She made a desultory attempt at conversation.
- Disappointing in performance or progress.
- (obsolete) Leaping, skipping or flitting about, generally in a random or unsteady manner.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
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out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
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disappointing in performance or progress
leaping or skipping about
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References edit
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “desultory”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading edit
- “desultory”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sel-
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
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