desert

      See also dessert, désert, and deșert

      English

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      Wikipedia

      Etymology 1

      Middle English from the Old French deserte, from deservir (“to deserve”). This in turn is from the Vulgar Latin deservire (“to gain or merit by giving service”)

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      desert (plural deserts)

      1. (usually in plural) That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward
        • 1600, John Dowland, Flow My Tears
          From the highest spire of contentment / my fortune is thrown; / and fear and grief and pain for my deserts / are my hopes, since hope is gone.
        • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula Chapter 21
          "Nonsense, Mina. It is a shame to me to hear such a word. I would not hear it of you. And I shall not hear it from you. May God judge me by my deserts, and punish me with more bitter suffering than even this hour, if by any act or will of mine anything ever come between us!"
        • A. Hamilton
          His reputation falls far below his desert.
      Derived terms
      Translations
      that which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward

      Etymology 2

      French désert or Old French desert, from Vulgar Latin desertum, from Latin desertus (“left waste”), past participle of deserere (“abandon”).

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      desert (plural deserts)

      1. A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
        • Alexander Pope
          Not thus the land appear'd in ages past, / A dreary desert and a gloomy waste.
      2. (figuratively) Any barren place or situation.
        • 2006, Philip N. Cooke, Creative Industries in Wales: Potential and Pitfalls (page 34)
          So the question that is commonly asked is, why put a media incubator in a media desert and have it managed by a civil servant?

      Adjective

      desert (not comparable)

      1. Abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited; usually of a place.
        They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific.
      Derived terms
      Derived terms
      Translations
      barren area

      Etymology 3

      From French déserter, from Late Latin desertare, from Latin desertus, from deserere (“abandon”)

      Pronunciation

      • enPR: dĭzû(r)t', IPA: /dɪˈzɜː(ɹ)t/, X-SAMPA: /dI"z3:(r)t/
      • Audio (US), verb
        		(file)

      Verb

      desert (third-person singular simple present deserts, present participle deserting, simple past and past participle deserted)

      1. To leave (anything that depends on one's presence to survive, exist, or succeed), especially when contrary to a promise or obligation; to abandon; to forsake.
        You can't just drive off and desert me here, in the middle of nowhere.
      2. To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission.
        Anyone found deserting will be shot.
      Derived terms
      Translations
      to abandon
      to leave military service

      Anagrams

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      Catalan

      Etymology

      From Latin dēsertum.

      Noun

      desert m (plural deserts)

      1. desert (desolate terrain)
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      Middle French

      Etymology

      From Latin dēsertum.

      Noun

      desert m (plural desers)

      1. desert (desolate terrain)
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      Old French

      Etymology

      From Latin dēsertum.

      Noun

      desert m (oblique plural desers, nominative singular desers, nominative plural desert)

      1. desert (desolate terrain)
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      Serbo-Croatian

      Noun

      dèsert m (Cyrillic spelling дѐсерт)

      1. dessert

      Declension

          declension of desert
      singular plural
      nominative desert deserti
      genitive deserta deserta
      dative desertu desertima
      accusative desert deserte
      vocative deserte deserti
      locative desertu desertima
      instrumental desertom desertima
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      Last modified on 3 June 2013, at 21:51