subsultive, a. rare.
(səbˈsʌltɪv)
[f. L. subsult-, pa. ppl. stem of subsilīre (see prec.) + -ive.]
Making or moving by sudden leaps, bounds, or starts.
| 1750 Berkeley in Gentl. Mag. XX. 167/1 The earth..moved up and down like the boiling of a pot... This sort of subsultive motion is ever accounted the most dangerous. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch, Numa I. 171 The Subsultive dance..which they [the Salii] lead up along the streets, when..they carry the sacred bucklers through the city. 1819 [H. Busk] Vestriad v. 669 [His feet] slow, subsultive, graze the level floor. 1909 Daily News 2 July 5 A very severe shock of earthquake of a subsultive and undulating character was felt here. |