Word of the Day : August 31, 2021
desultory
漫无目的的；无条理的；随意的
adjective DEH-sul-tor-ee
What It Means
Desultory means "marked by lack of definite plan or purpose."
Desultory 的意思是“以缺乏明确的计划或目的为标志”。
Examples
After graduation, he moved from job to job in a desultory manner.
毕业后，他漫无目的的换了一份工作。
"So my friend goes into the office with his copy, walks up to the creative director's desk, gently puts it down in front of him, and waits. The creative director looks baffled and irritated. He picks up the copy and gives it a desultory read." — Rob Long, Martini Shot (KCRW radio), 9 Apr. 2008
“我的朋友带着他的稿子走进办公室，走到创意总监的办公桌前，轻轻地放下，然后等着。创意总监看起来很困惑又很恼怒的样子。于是他拿起稿子，漫不经心地读了起来。”
Did You Know?
The Latin adjective desultorius was used by the ancients to refer to a circus performer (called a desultor) whose trick was to leap from horse to horse without stopping. It makes sense, then, that someone or something desultory "jumps" from one thing to another. (Desultor and desultorius, by the way, come from the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap.") A desultory conversation leaps from one topic to another and doesn't have a distinct point or direction. A desultory student skips from one subject to another without applying serious effort to any particular one. A desultory comment is a digressive one that jumps away from the topic at hand. And a desultory performance is one resulting from an implied lack of steady, focused effort.
古人用拉丁形容词 desultorius 用来指“不停地从一匹马跳到另一匹马马戏表演者（称为 desultor）。 因此，某人 或某物从一件事“跳跃”到另一件事是有道理的。 （顺便说一下，Desultor 和 desultorius 来自拉丁语动词 salire，意思是“to leap「跳跃」”。）
A desultory conversation leaps from one topic to another and doesn't have a distinct point or direction
随意的谈话从一个话题跳到另一个话题，没有明确的观点或方向。
A desultory student skips from one subject to another without applying serious effort to any particular one.
一个散漫的学生从一个科跳到另一个科，而没有认真学习任何学科。
A desultory comment is a digressive one that jumps away from the topic at hand. And a desultory performance is one resulting from an implied lack of steady, focused effort.
散漫的评论是脱离当前话题的偏题论述。 杂乱无章的表现是缺乏稳定、缺乏专注力导致的。
Quiz
What adjective was formed from Latin salire and can mean "very important or noticeable"?
salient「最重要的；显著的；突出的」
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