desultory : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: desultory	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for desultory
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
desultory adj 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"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Desultory \Des"ultory\, a. [L. desultorius, fr. desultor a leaper, fr. desilire, desultum, to leap down; de + salire to leap. See {Saltation}.] 1. Leaping or skipping about. [Obs.] I shot at it [a bird], but it was so desultory that I missed my aim. --Gilbert White. 2. Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection; without logical sequence; disconnected; immethodical; aimless; as, desultory minds. --Atterbury. He [Goldsmith] knew nothing accurately; his reading had been desultory. --Macaulay. 3. Out of course; by the way; as a digression; not connected with the subject; as, a desultory remark. Syn: Rambling; roving; immethodical; discursive; inconstant; unsettled; cursory; slight; hasty; loose.