Link Centre Dictionary

desultory

de·sul·tory

UK/ˈdɛs.əl.t(ə).ɹi/ US/ˈdɛz.əl.t(ə).ɹi/ uncommon obsolete

adjective

1.

marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another

  • “desultory thoughts”
  • “the desultory conversation characteristic of cocktail parties”
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Origin

From Latin dēsultōrius (“hasty, casual, superficial”), from dēsultor (“a circus rider who jumped from one galloping horse to another”), from dēsiliō (“jump down”), from dē (“down”) + saliō (“jump, leap”).

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.