desultory
(adjective) marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another; “desultory thoughts”; “the desultory conversation characteristic of cocktail parties”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
desultory (comparative more desultory, superlative most desultory)
Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence.
Synonyms: disconnected, unmethodical, aimless, quodlibetic, quodlibetical (in conversation)
Out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject.
Disappointing in performance or progress.
(obsolete) Leaping, skipping or flitting about, generally in a random or unsteady manner.
• Stroudley
Source: Wiktionary
Des"ul*to*ry, a. Etym: [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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 May 2025
(adjective) worth having or seeking or achieving; “a desirable job”; “computer with many desirable features”; “a desirable outcome”
The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.
