desultory

[Lat. desultorius =inconstant, fickle, from desultor =one who in the circus vaulted from one horse to another: de down, from. and salio to leap.] *I. Lit .: Leaping, skipping, or moving about. "I shot at it, but it was so desultory I mi ed my aim." -Gilbert White. II. Figuratively : 1. Pa ing from one subject to another; following no regular plan; loose, disconnected, unsystematic. "This makes my reading wild and decultory ."-War burton: Lett., Feb. 2, 1740. *2. Unstable, fickle, inconstant. "Unstable, i.e. , light, desultory , unbalanced minds."Atterbury: Sermons , vol. iii., ser. 9. 3. Said or done at random; not following any method, rule, or connection; random. "Need I to thee, dear Erskine, tell, I love the licence all too well, In sounds now lowly and now strong, To raise the desultory song?" Browne . 2. To deduce, to draw. IMG:content-2296.png:[blocks in formation] A. Transitive : only an equal number to the engagement, what benefit do they receive from their superiority?"-Add is on. IMG:content-2297.png:[blocks in formation] 1. Ord. Lang.: Separated, disengaged, loose, not connected together. "A detached body of the French."- Burnet : Hist . of his own Time (an. 1709). 2. Paint .: A term applied to figures which appear to stand out one from the other, or from the background. ( Weale .)