volant

English

Etymology

From Middle French volant, present participle of voler (“to fly”), from Latin volāre.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈvəʊlənt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈvoʊlənt/
• Rhymes: (UK) -əʊlənt, (General American) -oʊlənt

Adjective

volant (not comparable)

1. (heraldry) Having extended wings as if flying.
   • 1864, Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales: Comprising a Registry of Armorial Bearings from the Earliest to the Present Time, page 342:

     Crest - A horseshoe ar. betw. two wings volant sa. Farrer

   • 1924, The Publications of the Harleian Society, page 73:

     A demi-ostrich, wings volant proper.

2. (heraldry) Represented as unsupported in the air.

   

   A marlet volant.

   • 1864, Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales: Comprising a Registry of Armorial Bearings from the Earliest to the Present Time, page 553:

     A martlet volant. Motto - In Deo solo spes mea. Kay

3. Flying, or able to fly.
   • 1657, Philemon Holland, The Philosophie, Commonly Called, the Morals, Written by the Learned Philosopher, Plutarch, page 525:

     Alexander the Great […] lanced himself in manner of a Star Volant in the Air, leaping out of the East into the West, […]

4. Moving quickly or lightly, as though flying; nimble.
   • 1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 209:

     he turned to catch through the trees a flitting glimpse of her light dress, her volant attitude, as she sped silently and secretly back to the waiting group on the porch.

Derived terms

• volant piece

Anagrams

• Voltan

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [buˈlan]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [voˈlant]

Adjective

volant m or f (masculine and feminine plural volants)

1. flying

Noun

volant m (plural volants)

1. steering wheel, handwheel
2. (badminton) shuttlecock
3. badminton
4. tassel
5. (clothing) fringe, ruffle
6. (medicine) referral

Derived terms

• volant de direcció
• volant d'inèrcia
• volantí

Verb

volant

1. gerund of volar

Further reading

• “volant”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from French volant (“steering wheel”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈvolant]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

volant m inan

1. steering wheel

Declension

Declension of volant (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	volant	volanty
genitive	volantu	volantů
dative	volantu	volantům
accusative	volant	volanty
vocative	volante	volanty
locative	volantě, volantu	volantech
instrumental	volantem	volanty

Further reading

• “volant”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “volant”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “volant”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɔ.lɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Participle

volant

1. present participle of voler

Adjective

volant (feminine volante, masculine plural volants, feminine plural volantes)

1. flying

   soucoupe volante ― flying saucer

   objet volant non identifié ― unidentified flying object

   tapis volant ― flying carpet

   poisson volant ― flying fish

   feuille volante ― flyer

   renard volant ― flying fox

Derived terms

• cerf-volant

Noun

volant m (plural volants)

1. steering wheel

   Coordinate terms: guidon, barre

   prendre le volant ― to take the wheel

   au volant ― at the wheel

   fou du volant ― car buff, petrolhead; speeder

2. (technical) flywheel
3. flounce
4. (badminton) shuttlecock, birdie

Descendants

• → Czech: volant
• → Danish: volant
• → German: Volant
• → Italian: volant
• → Swedish: volang
• → Turkish: volan
• → Vietnamese: vô-lăng

Further reading

• “volant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• lovant

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French volant.

Noun

volant m (invariable)

1. frill, flounce

Further reading

• volant in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Verb

volant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of volō

Piedmontese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vuˈlaŋt/

Noun

volant m

1. steering wheel

   Synonym: sters

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈvɔlant]

Noun

volant m inan (genitive singular volanta, volantu, nominative plural volanty, genitive plural volantov, declension pattern of dub)

1. steering wheel

Declension

Declension of volant

	singular	plural
nominative	volant	volanty
genitive	volanta, volantu	volantov
dative	volantu	volantom
accusative	volant	volanty
locative	volante	volantoch
instrumental	volantom	volantmi

Further reading

• “volant”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025