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sal·ta·tion

(săl-tāshən, sôl-)

1. The act of leaping, jumping, or dancing.

2. Discontinuous movement, transition, or development; advancement by leaps.

3. Genetics A single mutation that drastically alters the phenotype.

[Latin saltātiō, saltātiōn, from saltātus, past participle of saltāre, to leap, frequentative of salīre, to jump; see SALIENT.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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