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Webster 1913 Edition

Desert

De-sert′

(dē̍-zẽrt′)
,
Noun.
[OF.
deserte
,
desserte
, merit, recompense, fr.
deservir
,
desservir
, to merit. See
Deserve
.]
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
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
desert
of life.
Longfellow.

Des′ert

,
Adj.
[Cf. L.
desertus
, p. p. of
deserere
, and F.
désert
. See 2d
Desert
.]
Of or pertaining to a desert; forsaken; without life or cultivation; unproductive; waste; barren; wild; desolate; solitary;
as, they landed on a
desert
island
.
He . . . 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
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
.]
[Cf. L.
desertus
, p. p. of
deserere
to desert, F.
déserter
. See 2d
Desert
.]
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;
as, to
desert
a friend, a principle, a cause, one’s country
.
“The deserted fortress.”
Prescott.
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.
S as z [L. To sow, plant or scatter.]
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.
An uninhabited tract of land; a region in its natural state; a wilderness; a solitude; particularly, a vast sandy plain, as the deserts of Arabia and Africa. But the word may be applied to an uninhabited country covered with wood.

DESERT

,
Verb.
T.
[L. To forsake.]
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.
To run away; to quit a service without permission; as, to desert from the army.

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.

Definition 2024

deșert

deșert

See also: desert, désert, and desèrt

Romanian

Adjective

deșert m, n ‎(feminine singular deșartă, masculine plural deșerți, feminine and neuter plural deșarte)

  1. empty, bare, desolate, vacant, deserted
Declension
Synonyms
Related terms

Etymology 2

From the above, with the meaning of a dry wasteland possibly based partially on French désert, from Latin dēsertum.

Noun

deșert n ‎(plural deșerturi)

  1. desert, wasteland
  2. wilderness
Declension
Synonyms

Etymology

From Latin dēsertus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /deˈʃert/
  • Hyphenation: de‧șert

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