What does "saltatory" mean?

Saltatory: Leaping or dancing; having the power of, or used in, leaping or dancing. Saltatory evolution (Biol.), a theory of evolution which holds that the transmutation of species is not always gradual, but that there may come sudden and marked variations. See Saltation. -- Saltatory spasm (Med.), an affection in which pressure of the foot on a floor causes the patient to spring into the air, so as to make repeated involuntary motions of hopping and jumping. J. Ross.