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Origin and history of desert

desert(v.)

c. 1600, transitive, "to leave, abandon," either in a good or bad sense; 1640s, in reference to military service or duty, "leave without permission;" from French déserter "cause to leave," literally "undo or sever connection," from Late Latin desertare, frequentative of Latin deserere "to abandon, to leave, forsake, give up, leave in the lurch," from de "undo" (see de-) + serere "join together, put in a row" (from PIE root *ser- (2) "to line up"). Intransitive sense of "quit (a service or post) without permission" is from 1680s. Related: Deserted; deserting.

desert(n.1)

c. 1200, "wasteland, wilderness, barren area," wooded or not, from Old French desert (12c.) "desert, wilderness, wasteland; destruction, ruin" and directly from Late Latin desertum (source of Italian diserto, Old Provençal dezert, Spanish desierto), literally "thing abandoned" (used in Vulgate to translate "wilderness"), noun use of neuter past participle of Latin deserere "forsake" (see desert (v.)).

Sense of "waterless, treeless region of considerable extent" was in Middle English and gradually became the main meaning. Classical Latin indicated this idea with deserta, plural of desertus. Commonly spelled desart in 18c., which is unetymological, but it avoids confusion with the two other senses of the word. 

Every important worker will report what life there is in him. It makes no odds into what seeming deserts the poet is born. Though all his neighbors pronounce it a Sahara, it will be a paradise to him; for the desert which we see is the result of the barrenness of our experience. [Thoreau, Journal, May 6, 1854]

desert(n.2)

c. 1300, "fact of deserving a certain treatment (for good or ill) for one's behavior," from Old French deserte "merit, recompense," noun use of past participle of deservir "be worthy to have," ultimately from Latin deservire "serve well," from de- "completely" (see de-) + servire "to serve" (see serve (v.)). Meaning "suitable reward or punishment, what one deserves" (now usually plural and with just), is from late 14c.

desert(adj.)

mid-13c., "deserted, uncultivated, waste, barren, unproductive," from Old French desert and Latin desertum (see desert (n.1)). Meaning "pertaining to or belonging to a desert" is from 1630s. Desert island, one that is uninhabited, is from c. 1600. 

also from mid-13c.

Entries linking to desert

serve(v.)

late 12c., serven, "to render habitual obedience to, owe allegiance to," also "minister, give aid, give help," from Old French servir "to do duty toward, show devotion to; set table, serve at table; offer, provide with," from Latin servire "be a servant, be in service, be enslaved;" figuratively "be devoted; be governed by; comply with; conform; flatter," originally "be a slave," related to servus "slave," which is of uncertain origin.

Perhaps from Etruscan (compare Etruscan proper names Servi, Serve, Latinized as Servius), but de Vaan says it is from Proto-Italic *serwo- "shepherd," *serwā- "observation," from PIE *seruo- "guardian" (source also of Avestan haraiti "heeds, protects"):

Rix 1994a argues that the original meaning of *serwo- probably was 'guard, shepherd', which underwent a pejorative development to 'slave' in Italy between 700 and 450 BC. Servire would be the direct derivative of servus, hence 'be a slave'; servare would in his view be derived from an older noun *serwa- or *serwom 'observation, heedance'.

It is attested by c. 1200 in widespread senses: "to be in the service of, perform a service for; attend or wait upon, be personal servant to; be a slave; owe allegiance to; officiate at Mass or other religious rites;" from early 13c. as "set food at table;" mid-14c. as "to wait on (customers)."

From late 14c. as "treat (someone or something) in some fashion." To serve (someone) right "treat as he deserves" is recorded from 1580s. Sense of "be useful, be beneficial, be suitable for a purpose or function" is from early 14c.; that of "take the place or meet the needs of, be equal to the task" is from late 14c.; that of "suffice" is from mid-15c.

The meaning "render active military service" is from 1510s. The sporting sense is attested by 1580s, first in tennis. The legal sense of "present" (a writ, warrant, etc.), "give legal notice of" is from early 15c. To serve hand and foot "minister to attentively" is by c. 1300.

He no schuld neuer wond
To seruen him fro fot to hond
["Amis and Amiloun," c. 1330]
deserter(n.)

"one who forsakes cause, duty, party, or friends," 1630s, agent noun from desert (v.). Especially "soldier or sailor who departs from position without leave and without intent to return" (1660s).

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More to explore

defect
early 15c., "want or lack of anything," especially lack of something essential to perfection or completeness, from Old French defect and directly from Latin defectus "failure, revolt, falling away," noun use of past participle of deficere "to fail, desert," from de "down, away" (
abandon
late 14c., "to give up (something) absolutely, relinquish control, give over utterly;" also reflexively, "surrender (oneself), yield (oneself) utterly" (to religion, fornication, etc.), from Old French abandonner "surrender, release; give freely, permit," also reflexive, "devote
forsake
Old English forsacan "object to, oppose, refuse, deny; give up, renounce" (past tense forsoc, past participle forsacen), from for- "completely" + sacan "to struggle, dispute, wrangle; accuse, blame" (see sake (n.1)). Related: Forsaking. Similar formation in Old Saxon farsakan, Du
Bedouin
"an Arab of the desert, one of the tribes of nomadic Arabs," c. 1400, from Old French bedüin (12c., Modern French bédouin...), from colloquial Arabic badawin "desert-dwellers," plural of badawi, from badw "desert, camp."...
oasis
"fertile spot in a desert, where there is a spring or well and more or less vegetation," originally in reference to the Libyan...desert, 1610s, from French oasis (18c.) and directly from Late Latin oasis, from Greek oasis, probably from Hamitic (compare...
cosmology
I have it in me so much nearer home To scare myself with my own desert places....[Robert Frost, from "Desert Places," 1936]...
Arab
from Greek Araps (genitive Arabos), from Arabic 'arab, indigenous name of the people, perhaps literally "inhabitant of the desert..." and related to Hebrew arabha "desert."...
ditch
"a trench made by digging," especially a trench for draining wet land," Middle English diche, from Old English dic "ditch, dike," a variant of dike (q.v.), which at first meant "an excavation," but later in Middle English was applied to the ridge or bank of earth thrown up in exc
feel
Old English felan "to touch or have a sensory experience of; perceive, sense (something)," in late Old English "have a mental perception," from Proto-Germanic *foljanan (source also of Old Saxon gifolian, Old Frisian fela, Dutch voelen, Old High German vuolen, German fühlen "to f
flee
Old English fleon, flion "take flight, fly from, avoid, escape" (contracted class II strong verb; past tense fleah, past participle flogen), from Proto-Germanic *fleuhanan "to run away" (source also of Old High German fliohan, Old Norse flöja, Old Frisian flia, Dutch vlieden, Ger

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