Etymograph

English

exultant

Exultant comes from Latin exsultāns ‘exulting in, rejoicing’, from saltō ‘to jump, dance’, and ultimately from saliō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaliō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaltō1‘to jump, dance’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsultō2‘rejoice’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsultāns2‘exulting in, rejoicing’present participle of exsultō
  5. Englishtodayexultant2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin exsulto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English exultant

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaliōWiktionary, Latin exsulto
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaltōWiktionary, Latin exsulto‘to jump, dance’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsultōWiktionary, English exultant‘rejoice’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsultānsWiktionary, English exultant‘exulting in, rejoicing’present participle of exsultō
  5. EnglishtodayexultantWiktionary, English exultant

Linked words

through Latin saliō

result, salt, sauce, salad, salmon, sally, resilience, resilient, salient, resiliency, salacious, salience, 26 more

Today it means

adj Very happy, especially at someone else's defeat or failure.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “exultant”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin exsulto. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin saliō / exultant

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