Etymograph

English

saltant

Saltant comes from Latin saltans ‘dancing’, from saltō ‘to dance’, and ultimately from saliō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaliō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaltō2as saltare, present participle‘to dance’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaltans2‘dancing’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1808saltant2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin salto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English saltant
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1808, The Critical Review, Annals of Literature: “Why the devil, can you deny that you've not…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaliōWiktionary, Latin salto
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaltōWiktionary, English saltantas saltare, present participle‘to dance’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaltansWiktionary, English saltant‘dancing’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1808saltantWiktionary, English saltant. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1808, The Critical Review, Annals of Literature: “Why the devil, can you deny that you've not…”

Linked words

through Latin saliō

result, sauce, salad, resilience, salmon, sally, resilient, resiliency, salient, salacious, salience, salto, 25 more

through Latin saltō ‘to dance’

exultant, 8 more

Today it means

adj Leaping; jumping; dancing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “saltant”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin salto. 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 / saltant

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