Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Desert
De-sert′
(dē̍-zẽrt′)
, Noun.
That which is deserved; the reward or the punishment justly due; claim to recompense, usually in a good sense; right to reward; merit.
According to their
deserts
will I judge them. Ezek. vii. 27.
Andronicus, surnamed Pius
For many good and great
For many good and great
deserts
to Rome. Shakespeare
Syn. – Merit; worth; excellence; due.
Des′ert
(dĕz′ẽrt)
, Noun.
[F.
désert
, L. desertum
, from desertus
solitary, desert, pp. of deserere
to desert; de-
+ serere
to join together. See Series
.] 1.
A deserted or forsaken region; a barren tract incapable of supporting population, as the vast sand plains of Asia and Africa which are destitute of moisture and vegetation.
A dreary
desert
and a gloomy waste. Pope.
2.
A tract, which may be capable of sustaining a population, but has been left unoccupied and uncultivated; a wilderness; a solitary place.
He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her
desert
like the garden of the Lord. Is. li. 3.
Also figuratively.
Before her extended
Dreary and vast and silent, the
Dreary and vast and silent, the
desert
of life. Longfellow.
Des′ert
,Adj.
Of or pertaining to a desert; forsaken; without life or cultivation; unproductive; waste; barren; wild; desolate; solitary;
as, they landed on a
. desert
islandHe . . . went aside privately into a
desert
place. Luke ix. 10.
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the
And waste its sweetness on the
desert
air. Gray.
Desert flora
(Bot.)
, the assemblage of plants growing naturally in a desert, or in a dry and apparently unproductive place.
– Desert hare
(Zool.)
, a small hare (
– Lepus sylvaticus
, var. Arizonæ
) inhabiting the deserts of the Western United States. Desert mouse
(Zool.)
, an American mouse (
Hesperomys eremicus
), living in the Western deserts.De-sert′
(dē̍-zẽrt′)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Deserted
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Deserting
.] 1.
To leave (especially something which one should stay by and support); to leave in the lurch; to abandon; to forsake; – implying blame, except sometimes when used of localities;
“The deserted fortress.” as, to
. desert
a friend, a principle, a cause, one’s countryPrescott.
2.
(Mil.)
To abandon (the service) without leave; to forsake in violation of duty; to abscond from;
as, to
desert
the army; to desert
one's colors.De-sert′
,Verb.
I.
To abandon a service without leave; to quit military service without permission, before the expiration of one's term; to abscond.
Syn. – To abandon; forsake; leave; relinquish; renounce; quit; depart from; abdicate. See
Abandon
. Webster 1828 Edition
Desert
DESERT
,Adj.
1.
Literally, forsaken; hence, uninhabited; as a desert isle. Hence, wild; untilled; waste; uncultivated; as a desert land or country.2.
Void; emprty; unoccupied.Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness on the desert air.
DESERT
,Noun.
DESERT
,Verb.
T.
1.
To forsake; to leave utterly; to abandon; to quit with a view not to return to; as, to desert a friend; to desert our country; to desert a cause.2.
To leave, without permission, a military band, or a ship, in which one is enlisted; to forsake the service in which one is engaged, in violation of duty; as, to desert the army; to desert ones colors; to desert a ship.DESERT
,Verb.
I.
DESERT
, n.1.
A deserving; that which gives a right to reward or demands, or which renders liable to punishment; merit or demerit; that which entitles to a recompense of equal to the offense; good conferred, or evil done, which merits an equivalent return. A wise legislature will reward or punish men according to their deserts.2.
That which is deserved; reward or punishment merited. In a future life, every man will receive his desert.