1: moving by leaps or springs
2: jetting upward
3a: projecting beyond a line, surface, or level
b: standing out conspicuously
Salient applies to something of significance that merits the attention given it.
Salient first popped up in English in the mid-17th century, and in its earliest English uses meant "moving by leaps or springs" (as in "a salient cheetah") or "spouting forth" (as in "a salient fountain"). Those senses aren't too much of a jump from the word's parent, the Latin verb salire, which means "to leap." Salire has leaped into many English words; it's also an ancestor of somersault and sally, as well as Salientia, the name for an order of amphibians that includes frogs, toads, and other notable jumpers. Today, salient is usually used to describe things that are physically prominent (such as a salient nose) or that stand out figuratively (such as the salient features of a painting).
From Macmillan Dictionary:
A salient fact, issue, or feature is one that is especially noticeable or relevant.
ed note: pronounced SAIL-ee-uhnt, though related to the verb sally as in 'sally forth'
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