desert

adj

Etymology: From Middle English desert (“wilderness”), from Old French desert, from Latin dēsertum, past participle of dēserō (“to abandon”). Generally displaced native Old English wēsten. False cognate of Egyptian dšrt.

1. Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited.

   “They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific.”

   “And he said vnto them, Come yee your selues apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many comming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eate.”

noun

1. Obsolete form of dessert.

   “Francis, besides being an excellent Cook, knowing how to provide genteel Dinners, and giving aid in dressing them, prepared the Desert, made the Cake, and did every thing that Hyde & wife conjointly do;—[…]”

   “They answer for caramel or gum paste baskets, for desert or suppers. […] BARBERRIES / For Deserts, or Second Course Pastry. […] Under these impressions—admitting, as they would, such a variety of combinations, the Author has confined himself to a plain selection of the principal articles in season in each month, merely to give a good general idea of laying out a table for deserts, leaving to the house[-]keeper to vary, and increase or diminish, according to her taste, or the extent of her company.”

verb

Etymology: Borrowed from French déserter, from Late Latin dēsertō, from Latin dēsertus, from dēserō (“abandon”).

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 punished.”