Des"ul*to*ry (?), 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.
© Webster 1913. | 
