saltant, a.
(ˈsæltənt)
[ad. L. saltant-em, pres. pple. of saltāre (see saltate).]
1. Leaping, jumping, dancing. Now rare or Obs.
| 1601 Holland Pliny viii. xvi. I. 202 When he chaseth and followeth after other beasts, hee goeth alwaies saltant or rampant. 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) III. 117 This prophesying spirit-errant, processional, and saltant. 1755 Johnson, Saltant, jumping; dancing. 1819 H. Busk Vestriad i. 676 Thou, whose turn'd legs, main pillars of the stage, Support its glory in this saltant age. 1827 J. F. Cooper Prairie II. x. 28 No professor of the saltant art ever applied himself with greater industry than [etc.]. |
b. Zool. = saltatorial.
| In mod. Dicts. |
c. Her. Applied to small animals when salient.
| 1850 Ogilvie, Saltant,..a term applied to the squirrel, weasel, rat, and all vermin, and also to the cat, greyhound, ape, and monkey, when in a position springing forward. |