quantum leap

Etymology
Possibly.

Noun

 * 1)  The discontinuous change of the state of an electron in an atom or molecule from one energy level to another.
 * 2)  An abrupt, extreme change.
 * 3)  A large, massive, significant change.
 * 4) * 1993, Mr Burton, before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Looking Back and Reaching Forward: Prospects for Democracy in Ethiopia : Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session, September 17, 1992, page 56:
 * I was at the elections in Namibia. We had problems there, [...] But I would say that this is a quantum leap forward when you think of the Mengistu government and the horrible repression, the famine, the tyranny that existed under him, and you see this movement toward freedom and democracy over there. Although there, admittedly, have been problems, this is a giant step in the right direction.
 * 1)  A large, massive, significant change.
 * 2) * 1993, Mr Burton, before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Looking Back and Reaching Forward: Prospects for Democracy in Ethiopia : Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session, September 17, 1992, page 56:
 * I was at the elections in Namibia. We had problems there, [...] But I would say that this is a quantum leap forward when you think of the Mengistu government and the horrible repression, the famine, the tyranny that existed under him, and you see this movement toward freedom and democracy over there. Although there, admittedly, have been problems, this is a giant step in the right direction.

Translations

 * Danish: kvantespring
 * Esperanto: kvantuma salto
 * Finnish: kvanttihyppy
 * French:
 * German:
 * Italian: salto quantico
 * Norwegian: kvantesprang
 * Russian: ква́нтовый скачо́к
 * Swedish: kvantsprång


 * Esperanto: kvantuma salto
 * Finnish: hyppäys
 * German:
 * Hebrew: קפיצת מדרגה
 * Norwegian: kvantesprang
 * Spanish: salto cuántico
 * Swedish: kvantsprång