Desultory
/ˈdɛs.əl.tər.i/noun
Lacking a clear plan, purpose, or steady direction.
Did you know?The word comes from Roman circus riding: a desultor was an acrobat who jumped between horses in a race, so the modern meaning preserves the image of movement without commitment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sel-
“to jump, leap”
Latin
Latin
desultorius
“of or relating to leaping down or jumping from one thing to another”
Late Latin
Latin
desultorius
“skipping about, fitful, inconstant”
15th Century
English
desultorie
“done by jumping; later, haphazard or disconnected”
Modern English
English
desultory
“random, disconnected, lacking steady purpose”