sali-, salt-, -sili-, sult-, -salta-

1. Leaping or jumping, or sudden jumps or leaps: One example of a saltation is when there are grasshoppers jumping out of the way when someone walks in the grass.

Multitudes of saltations take place with locusts; especially, when they are disturbed by creatures walking around among them while they are eating plants in uncultivated fields or on farms.

2. Development or transition that takes place in bounds or bounces: There are several species that move around with saltations and squirrels and rats are among the most common examples.
3. The abrupt evolutionary development of a new species: Saltations can be a result of genetic mutations or sudden changes of a species in a single generation or from one generation to the next one.

In its extreme form, saltation is no longer considered valid by most modern evolutionary biologists.

4. The skpping movement of particles of soil or sand in the wind or in running water, characterized by bouncing movements: When soils or sand are characterized by saltations, they are usually caused by movements over some kind of irregular or uneven surfaces; for example, rocks or other uneven areas.

Any of several theories about the evolution of species which proceeds in major steps, or strides, by the abrupt transformation of an ancestral species into a descendant species of a different type, rather than by the gradual accumulation of small changes: The process of saltationism includes an unorthodox emphasis of evolutionary changes that is considered to be abnormal when compared to longer changes that usually take place.

Saltationism is generally not considered to be a method by which evolution occurs.

The ability to hop or skip: The saltativeness of certain animals and some insects has been observed and recorded by biologists.

1. A reference to gamboling, jumping about, or stepping to music: Some people go to special fitness-studio activities to participate in saltatorial exercises.

Marian's students love to do more saltatorial activities than those in other classes in school.

In addition to other insects with saltatorial limbs, grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets are among the most easily recognized examples of those creatures that have saltatorial back legs.

2. In genetics, descriptive of a single mutation that drastically alters the phenotype: A saltatorial phenotype is the appearance of an individual, that results from the interaction of the person's genetic makeup and his or her environment.

Members of the insect orders of Orthoptera or Saltatoria: Crickets, locusts, and crickets are saltatorians.

1. Capable of bounding: Any saltatorious motion involves jumping or leaping.
2. Formed for hopping: A reference to saltatorious insects or saltatorious legs that make it possible for insects to jump so they can transport themselves from place to place.

1. Relating to or adapted for springing or moving to music: There are some dances that have a lot of saltatory or abrupt motions instead of gliding around as when waltzing.
2. A reference to going around from one place to another one by hopping rather than by smooth gradual walking or running: Frogs, toads, and kangaroos are a few examples of creatures that progress around in more saltatory ways.

As the biologist walked through the field, he could see the saltatory or springing around of the grasshoppers that were surrounding him.

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A form of nerve impulse conduction in which the impulse jumps from one Ranvier's node (gap) to the next, rather than traveling the entire length of the nerve fiber: Saltatory conduction (from the Latin saltare, "to hop" or "to leap") is the transmission of a nerve impulse from node to node (collection of tissue) of a nerve fiber, rather than along the membrane (thin layer of tissue) which is faster than along unmyelinated fibers.

The appearance of a sudden change within a species, caused by mutation: Saltatory evolution involves the progression of a species by sudden major changes rather than by the gradual accumulation of minor changes.

The phenomena of saltatory evolutions occur predominantly in plants as a result of having one or more extra sets of chromosomes or DNA that are encoded with genes and structural proteins.

A sudden, violent, involuntary contraction or a jerky affection of the muscles of the lower extremities; such as the legs: Saltatory spasms cause patients' leg muscles to twitch or to jerk and are also known as tics.

A dancing girl or dancing girls: Jenny, the star saltatrix and the other salatrixes put on a wonderful show.

1. Having feet or legs formed for leaping: The saltigrade insects are equipped to move around by jumping.
2. Moving by pouncing: One of the most saltigrade species includes a tribe of leaping spiders; such as, those that lie in wait and jump on their prey.

1. A cross with diagonal bars of equal length; used in heraldry: A saltire is considered to be "ordinary" in the form of a cross with arms running diagonally from the dexter (right) chief to the sinister (left) base and from the sinister chief to the dexter base; such as, the St. Andrew's cross.

An "ordinary" saltire is used in heraldry to mean any of several conventional figures used on shields.

2. Etymology: an ordinary on a shield or flag like a St. Andrew's Cross, from Middle French (as written and spoken about 1400 to about 1600) saultoir; literally, "stirrup", from Medieval Latin saltatorium, neuter of Latin saltatorius, "pertaining to leaping"; from salire, "to leap". The connection between a stirrup and the diagonal cross is perhaps the two deltoid shapes that make up the cross.

To fry lightly in fat in a shallow open pan; probably because of the droplets of fat that "jump" around in the pan: When Janet sautés food quickly and lightly in a little butter, oil, or fat; such as, meat or onions, it has been fried quickly by tossing or flipping it around in the pan.

1. An acrobatic movement in which the body is rolled over, feet over head, either forward or backward, on the ground or in midair, finally returning to an upright position: The gymnasts performed a variety of spectacular forward and backward somersaults.

The children in school, including Mary and Martin, learned how to turn somersaults in their gym classes.

2. A reversal of opinion or decision; or a complete change of mind or reversal of policy: The politicians were accused of doing somersaults with their proposals.

When Erica heard the shocking news about her father's death, her heart did a figurative somersault.

3. Etymology: a leap in which a person tumbles heels over head in mid-air, comes from the Old French sombresault, which was based on the earlier form sobresault.

Both of these French words were rooted, in turn, on a combination of the Latin supra, "above, over" and saltus, meaning "to leap"; derived from salire, "to jump"; giving us the combined sense of "to leap above".

The word first appeared in English in the form sobersault in about 1530, but by the beginning of the 19th century, English speakers and writers were using the modern form somersault.