Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: "Salient"

Date: August 20, 2025
Host: Peter Sokolowski

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the adjective salient, exploring its meaning, origins, and evolution in the English language. Host Peter Sokolowski demonstrates how "salient" is used in modern contexts, connects it to its Latin roots, and provides illustrative, memorable examples.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Does "Salient" Mean?

• Definition:
  • "Something described as salient is very important or noticeable."
  • Salient is most often used to describe aspects, features, or points that "leap out" or are particularly striking and prominent.

Usage Example

• Contemporary Context:
  • The episode features a sentence from the New York Times:
    • "All actors use their bodies, but Zoe Saldana has long been on another plane. She doesn't just interpret characters, she moves through them with such salient physicality that her body often has as much to say as the dialogue she speaks."
  • This example demonstrates how salient can characterize something vivid or attention-grabbing—in this case, an actor's presence.

Etymology and Language Connections

• Origins in Latin:
  • The word entered English usage to describe things (especially animals) that move by "jumping, springing, or leaping."
  • It derives from the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap."
• Connections to Other Languages:
  • Spanish: salir, meaning "to leave."
  • French: saillir, meaning "to jut out."
  • These linguistic relatives maintain the core notion of moving outward or standing forth, reinforcing the word's essence of prominence.

Modern Usage

• Salient now most often describes abstract things, like features in a painting or key points in an essay or argument.
• The metaphorical leap from movement to mental or conceptual prominence is emphasized.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Definition and Use:
  • "Salient is an adjective. Something described as salient is very important or noticeable." (00:42, Host Peter Sokolowski)
• Etymology:
  • "When the word salient first hopped into English, it described things, animals especially, that move by jumping, springing or leaping. Small wonder, then, that the word comes from the Latin verb 'salire,' meaning to leap." (00:59, Host)
• Modern Metaphor:
  • "Today, salient is usually used to describe things that leap out in a figurative sense, such as the salient features of a painting or the salient points made in an essay or argument." (01:32, Host)

Key Timestamps

• 00:42 — Definition and introduction of "salient"
• 00:46 — Example sentence from the New York Times
• 00:59 — Word origin and Latin root explanation
• 01:18 — Connections to Spanish and French verbs
• 01:32 — Explanation of modern, figurative usage

Summary

Peter Sokolowski provides an engaging overview of the word "salient," tracing its leap from physical movement to figurative prominence in the way we describe important or noticeable features. The episode offers both linguistic insights and practical examples, leaving listeners with a clearer understanding of how to spot—and use—salient points in language and life.