desert

See also: dessert, désert, and deșert

English

Etymology 1

(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English from the (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French (deprecated template usage) deserte, from (deprecated template usage) deservir, in turn from the (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Vulgar Latin (deprecated template usage) deservire. Possibly related to ancient (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Egyptian (deprecated template usage) dšrt.

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /dɪˈzɜː(ɹ)t/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /dɪˈzəɹt/, /dəˈzəɹt/

Noun

desert (plural deserts)

2. (deprecated template usage) (usually in the 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

• just deserts

Translations

that which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward

• Armenian: վաստակ (vastak)
• Bulgarian: заслужено (bg) n (zasluženo)
• Danish: fortjeneste c
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: palkka (fi)
• Spanish: merecido (es) (just punishment)

Etymology 2

(deprecated template usage) [etyl] French (deprecated template usage) désert or (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French (deprecated template usage) desert, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Vulgar Latin (deprecated template usage) desertum, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin (deprecated template usage) desertus, past participle of (deprecated template usage) deserere, possibly from ancient (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Egyptian (deprecated template usage) dšrt.

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛzə(ɹ)t/
• enPR: dĕ'zə(r)t, (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛzɚt/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio (US), noun:

  (file)

Noun

desert (plural deserts)

1. A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
   • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

     Not thus the land appear'd in ages past, / A dreary desert and a gloomy waste.
2. (figuratively) Any barren place or situation.
   • 1858, William Howitt, Land, Labour, and Gold; Or, Two Years in Victoria (page 54)

     He declared that the country was an intellectual desert; that he was famishing for spiritual aliment, and for discourse on matters beyond mere nuggets, prospectings, and the price of gold.

   • 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.

   • Bible, Luke ix. 10

     He […] went aside privately into a desert place.

   • Gray

     Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• desert boot
• desert island
• desert lynx
• desert pavement

• desert pea
• desert rat
• desert soil
• desert varnish

• desertification
• food desert
• preach in the desert

Translations

barren area

• Abkhaz: ацәҳәыра (acʷḥʷəra)
• Albanian: shkretëtirë f
• Amharic: በረሃ (bäräha)
• Arabic: صحراء (ar) f (ṣaḥrāʾ)

  Egyptian Arabic: صحرة f (ṣaḥara)

• Aramaic: מדבריא
• Armenian: անապատ (hy) (anapat)
• Asturian: ermu m, desiertu m
• Azeri: səhra (az)

  Cyrillic: сәһра

• Bashkir: сүл (sül), сүллек (süllek)
• Basque: basamortu (eu)
• Belarusian: пусты́ня f (pustýnja)
• Bengali: মরুভূমি (môrubhumi)
• Bulgarian: пусти́ня (bg) f (pustínja)
• Burmese: သဲကန္တာရ (my) (sai:kantara.)
• Catalan: desert (ca) m
• Chechen: гӏум-аре (ğum-are)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 沙漠 (zh) (shāmò)

• Czech: poušť (cs) f
• Danish: ørken (da) c
• Dutch: woestijn (nl) f
• Egyptian: 𓌻𓂋𓅱𓈉 (mrw)
• Esperanto: dezerto
• Estonian: kõrb (et)
• Finnish: aavikko (fi), autiomaa (fi)
• French: désert (fr) m
• Friulian: disiert
• Galician: deserto (gl) m
• Georgian: უდაბნო (udabno)
• German: Wüste (de) f
• Greek:

  Modern: έρημος (el) f (érimos)

• Guaraní: tave'ÿ, yvyku'ipasu
• Hebrew: מִדְבָּר (he) m (midbār)
• Hindi: मरुस्थल (marusthal), मरुभूमि (marubhūmi)
• Hungarian: sivatag (hu)
• Icelandic: eyðimörk (is) f
• Indonesian: gurun (id)
• Irish: fásach (ga) m1, gaineamhlach m1 (sandy desert)
• Istriot: dazierto m
• Italian: deserto (it) m
• Japanese: 沙漠 (ja) (さばく, sabaku), 荒野 (ja) (こうや, kōya, あらの, arano)
• Javanese: segara wedhi
• Jèrriais:
• Kazakh: шөл (şöl)
• Khmer: វាលខ្សាច់ (viel ksac)
• Korean: 사막 (ko) (samak) (沙漠 (ko))
• Kurdish:

  Sorani:

• Kyrgyz: чөл (ky) (cöl)
• Lao: ທະເລຊາຍ (lo) (tha lē sāi)
• Latin: desertum (la)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latvian: tuksnesis m
• Lithuanian: dykuma (lt) f
• Low German:

  German Low German: Wööst

• Macedonian: пу́стина f (pústina)
• Malagasy: efitra (mg)
• Malay: padang pasir, gurun
• Malayalam: മരുഭൂമി (ml) (marubhūmi)
• Maltese: deżert m
• Maori: koraha
• Mongolian: цөл (mn) (cöl)
• Narom: desert
• Navajo: doo nidahałtingóó
• Norwegian: ørken (no) c
• Occitan: desèrt m, èrm (oc) m
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: поустыни f (pustyni)

• Old English: wēsten
• Ossetian: ӕдзӕрӕгран (æʒærægran)
• Persian: بیابان (fa) (biyâbân), صحرا (fa) (sahrâ)
• Polish: pustynia (pl) f
• Portuguese: deserto (pt) m
• Romanian: deșert (ro), pustiu (ro)
• Romansch: desert m, desiert m, dasiert m
• Russian: пусты́ня (ru) f (pustýnja)
• Samogitian: dīkoma
• Scottish Gaelic: fàsach m or f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пустиња f

  Roman: pustinja (sh) f

• Sicilian: disertu (scn)
• Sinhalese: කාන්තාර (kāntāra)
• Slovak: púšť f
• Slovene: puščava (sl) f, pustínja f
• Somali: bataax
• Spanish: desierto (es) m
• Swedish: öken (sv) c
• Tajik: биёбон (biyobon), чӯл (čül), саҳро (sahro)
• Tamil: பாலைவனம் (ta) (pālaivaṉam)
• Tatar: чүл (tt) (çül)
• Telugu: ఎడారి (te) (eḍāri)
• Thai: ทะเลทราย (tá-lay-saai)
• Turkish: çöl (tr)
• Turkmen: çöl
• Tuvan: кум (kum)
• Ukrainian: пусте́ля (uk) f (pustélja), пусти́ня f (pustýnja)
• Urdu: ریگستان (registan)
• Uyghur: چۆل (chöl)
• Uzbek: choʻl (uz)
• Vietnamese: sa mạc (vi) (沙漠), hoang mạc
• Waray-Waray: desyerto
• Welsh: anialwch (cy), diffeithdir, anialdir (cy) m
• Wolof: yay
• Yoruba: aginjù

Etymology 3

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French (deprecated template usage) déserter, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Late Latin (deprecated template usage) desertare, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin (deprecated template usage) desertus, from (deprecated template usage) deserere

Pronunciation

• enPR: dĭzû(r)t', (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /dɪˈzɜː(ɹ)t/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  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

• deserter
• desertion
• desert or leave a sinking ship

Translations

to abandon

• Armenian: լքել (lkʻel)
• Bulgarian: напускам (bg) (napuskam), изоставям (bg) (izostavjam)
• Catalan: desertar (ca)
• Czech: opustit (cs)
• (deprecated template usage) Dutch: achterlaten (nl), verlaten (nl), aan m 'n lot overlaten
• Finnish: hylätä (fi)
• French: déserter (fr)
• German: verlassen (de), im Stich lassen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hindi: छोड़ देना (hi) (chhod dena)
• Japanese: 見捨てる (みすてる, misuteru), 去る (ja) (さる, saru)
• Latin: dēscīscō, perfugio, transfugio
• Mizo: rauhsan
• Polish: opuszczać (pl)
• Russian: бросить (ru) (brositʹ), забросить (ru) (zabrositʹ), покинуть (ru) (pokinutʹ), оставить (ru) (ostavitʹ)
• Spanish: abandonar (es)

to leave military service

• Asturian: desertar
• Bulgarian: дезертирам (bg) (dezertiram)
• Catalan: desertar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Template:trreq

• Czech: dezertovat
• Dutch: deserteren (nl)
• Esperanto: dizerti
• Finnish: karata (fi)
• French: déserter (fr)
• Galician: desertar
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: desertieren (de)
• Hebrew: ערק (arák)
• Hungarian: dezertál (hu)
• Japanese: 脱走する (だっそうする, dassōsuru)
• Template:trreq
• Latin: perfugio, transfugio
• Latvian: dezertēt
• Polish: dezerterować
• Portuguese: desertar
• Russian: дезертировать (ru) (dezertírovat')
• Spanish: desertar (es)

Anagrams

• deters
• rested

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Catalan

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin dēsertum.

Noun

desert m (plural deserts)

1. desert (desolate terrain)

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Friulian

Alternative forms

• disiert

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin dēsertum.

Noun

desert m (plural deserts)

1. desert

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Middle French

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin dēsertum.

Noun

desert m (plural desers)

1. desert (desolate terrain)

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Old French

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin dēsertum.

Noun

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

1. desert (desolate terrain)

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Serbo-Croatian

Noun

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