# desert
## English
### Etymology 1

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

#### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈdɛz.ət/
* (General American) enPR: dĕz'ərt, IPA: /ˈdɛz.ɚt/
** Audio (US); “desert” (noun):(file)
* (Appalachians, obsolete) enPR: dəzärt', IPA: /dəˈzɑɹt/
* Rhymes: -ɛzə(ɹ)t

#### Noun

desert (countable and uncountable, plural deserts)
* A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
** 1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], Daphnaïda. An Elegy upon the Death of the Noble and Vertuous Douglas Howard,Daughter and Heire of Henry Lord Howard, Viscount Byndon, and Wife of Arthure Gorges Esquier. […], London: […] [Thomas Orwin] for William Ponsonby, […], →OCLC, signature [C4], recto:And ye poore Pilgrimes, that vvith reſtleſſe toyle VVearie your ſelues in vvandring deſert vvayes […]
** 1713, [Alexander] Pope, Windsor-Forest. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:Not thus the land appear'd in ages past, A dreary desert and a gloomy waste.
** In particular, a barren, arid area of land which is hot, with sandy, rocky, or parched ground.
*** 1805 December, Julius Griffiths, “A Journey across the Desert”, in The Monthly Mirror, page 362:It is wholly out of the power of language to convey any idea of the blissful enjoyment of obtaining water, after an almost total want of it, during eight and forty hours, in the scorching regions of an Arabian desert, in the month of July.
*** 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them.
* (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.
** 1964 March, “News and Comment: Which way to the West?”, in Modern Railways, page 147:By contrast, the WR route is an economic desert between Newbury and Taunton.
** 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?

##### Derived terms

* Asian desert warbler
* Chinese desert cat
* concrete desert
* deagle
* desert bean
* desert blue
* desert boot
* desert candle
* desert cat
* desert cooler
* desert cottontail
* desert dandelion
* desert date
* desert dolly
* desert fox
* desert fruit cake
* desertful
* desert glue
* desert hare
* desertic
* deserticole
* deserticolous
* desertification
* desertify
* desert ironwood
* desert island
* desert kite
* desert kit fox
* desertland
* desert lavender
* desertlike
* desert lily
* desert locust
* desert lynx
* desert marigold
* desert mole rat
* desert mouse
* desert oak
* desert onion
* desertophile
* desert pavement
* desert pea
* desert pear
* desert physa
* desert raisin
* desert rat
* desert rheumatism
* desert rock
* desert rose
* desert sand
* desertscape
* desert soil
* desert sore
* desert tea
* desert-thorn
* desert tomato
* desert tortoise
* desert truffle
* desert varnish
* desertward
* desertwards
* desert whale
* desert wheatear
* desert willow
* desertworthy
* deserty
* flowering desert
* food desert
* medical desert
* nondesert
* Nubian Desert
* paleodesert
* Peruvian desert fox
* polar desert
* preach in the desert
* Sahara Desert
* Sechura desert fox
* semi-desert, semidesert
* ship of the desert
* Sturt's desert pea
* subdesert
* sub-desert
* transdesert

##### Translations

Abkhaz: ацәҳәыра (acʷḥʷəra)
Adyghe: бгынэн (bɣənɛn)
Afrikaans: woestyn
Albanian: shkretëtirë (sq) f
Amharic: በረሃ (bäräha)
Arabic: صَحْرَاء (ar) f (ṣaḥrāʔ)
Egyptian Arabic: صحرة f (ṣaḥara)
Hijazi Arabic: صحرا f (ṣaḥra), بَرّ m (barr)
Aramaic:
Hebrew: מדברא m (maḏbrā)
Syriac: ܡܕܒܪܐ m (maḏbrā)
Armenian: անապատ (hy) (anapat)
Aromanian: irnjii f, pundii f, pustilii f
Assamese: মৰুভূমি (morubhumi)
Asturian: ermu (ast) m, desiertu (ast) m
Azerbaijani: çöl (az), səhra (az)
Bashkir: сүл (sül), сүллек (süllek)
Basque: basamortu (eu)
Belarusian: пусты́ня f (pustýnja)
Bengali: মরুভূমি (bn) (morubhumi)
Bhojpuri: रेगिस्तान (rēgistān)
Breton: dezerzh f
Bulgarian: пусти́ня (bg) f (pustínja)
Burmese: သဲကန္တာရ (my) (sai:kantara.), ကန္တာရ (my) (kantara.)
Buryat: сүл (sül)
Carpathian Rusyn: пустыня f (pustŷnja)
Catalan: desert (ca) m
Chechen: гӏум-аре (ğum-are)
Cherokee: ᎢᎾᎨ (inage)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 沙漠 (saa$^1$ mok$^6$)
Dungan: гуәбый (guəbɨy), гуәбыйтан (guəbɨytan), кунтан (kuntan), савә (savə), сатан (satan)
Eastern Min: 沙漠 (să-mŏk)
Hakka: 沙漠 (sâ-mo̍k)
Hokkien: 沙漠 (soa-bô͘, soa-bo̍k, see-bô͘, sa-bo̍k, sa-bô͘)
Mandarin: 沙漠 (zh) (shāmò), 砂漠 (zh) (shāmò)
Wu: 沙漠 ($^1$so-moq)
Chuvash: пушхир (pušhir)
Czech: poušť (cs) f
Danish: ørken (da) c
Dutch: woestijn (nl) f, woestenij (nl) f
Eastern Bontoc: potaw, nakkaiang ay lota
Egyptian: (mrw)
Emilian: desêrt m
Esperanto: dezerto
Estonian: kõrb (et)
Faroese: oyðimørk (fo) f, oyða f
Fiji Hindi: desert
Finnish: aavikko (fi), autiomaa (fi)
French: désert (fr) m
Friulian: disiert
Galician: deserto (gl) m, ermo (gl) m
Georgian: უდაბნო (udabno)
German: Wüste (de) f
Alemannic German: Wüeschti f
Bavarian: Wiastn f
Gothic: 𐌰𐌿𐌸𐌹𐌳𐌰 f (auþida)
Greek: έρημος (el) f (érimos)
Guaraní: tave'ÿ, yvyku'ipasu
Haitian Creole: dezè
Hausa: hamada (ha)
Hebrew: מִדְבָּר (he) m (midbār)
Hindi: मरुस्थल (hi) m (marusthal), मरुभूमि (hi) (marubhūmi), मरु (hi) m (maru), रेगिस्तान (hi) m (registān), सहरा (hi) m (sahrā), वीराना (hi) m (vīrānā), बयाबान (hi) m (bayābān), दश्त (hi) m (daśt)
Hungarian: sivatag (hu)
Icelandic: eyðimörk (is) f, auðn (is) f, öræfi (is) n pl
Ilocano: kadaratan, desierto
Indonesian: gurun (id)
Ingrian: liivikko
Irish: fásach (ga) m1, gaineamhlach m1 (sandy desert)
Istriot: dazierto m
Italian: deserto (it) m
Japanese: 砂漠 (ja) (さばく, sabaku), 荒野 (ja) (こうや, kōya, あらの, arano)
Javanese: segara wedhi
Kalmyk: көдә (ködä), цөл (tsöl)
Kannada: ಮರುಭೂಮಿ (kn) (marubhūmi)
Karachay-Balkar: къуругъан тюз (quruğan tüz)
Karaim: данъгъыл , чӧл
Kashubian: pustiniowi, piôszczëzna f
Kazakh: шөл (şöl)
Khakas: сӧл чазы
Khmer: វាលខ្សាច់ (km) (viəl khsac)
Korean: 사막(沙漠) (ko) (samak)
Kumyk: чёл (çöl)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: دەشت (deşt)
Northern Kurdish: deşt (ku), beyeban, çol (ku), sehra (ku)
Kyrgyz: чөл (ky) (cöl)
Ladino: desyerto m
Lak: чул (čul)
Lao: ທະເລຊາຍ (lo) (tha lē sāi)
Latin: desertum (la)
Latvian: tuksnesis m
Limburgish: wósdje f, weuste f
Lithuanian: dykuma (lt) f
Lombard: desert m
Low German:
Dutch Low Saxon: weuste f
German Low German: Wööst f
Lubuagan Kalinga: leglegen, igew un lappun tagu
Luxembourgish: Wüst f
Macedonian: пустина f (pustina)
Malagasy: efitra (mg)
Malay: padang pasir, gurun
Malayalam: മരുഭൂമി (ml) (marubhūmi)
Maltese: deżert m
Manchu: ᡤᠣᠪᡳ (gobi)
Maori: koraha
Marathi: वाळवंट (mr) n (vāḷvaṇṭa)
Middle English: desert
Mirandese: zerto m
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: цөл (mn) (cöl)
Mongolian: ᠴᠥᠯ (čöl)
Nahuatl: huāccāīxtlāhuatl
Norman: desert
Navajo: doo nidahałtingóó
Nepali: मरुभूमि (marubhūmi)
Newar: फिसःबुँ (phisa:bũ)
Norman: (Jersey) d'sèrt m, (Guernsey) désaert m, (continental Normandy) desert m
North Frisian: wüüst f
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ørken (no) m
Nynorsk: ørken m
Occitan: desèrt (oc) m, èrm (oc) m
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: поустꙑни f (pustyni)
Glagolitic: ⱂⱆⱄⱅⱏⰻⱀⰻ f (pustyni), ⱂⱆⱄⱅⱏⰹⱀⰻ f (pustyni)
Old English: wēsten
Ossetian: ӕдзӕрӕгран (æʒærægran)
Ottoman Turkish: چول (çöl)
Pannonian Rusyn: пустиня f (pustinja)
Pashto: صحرا (ps) f (sahrā), بيابان (ps) m (byābān)
Persian:
Dari: بِیَابَان (biyābān), صَحْرَا (sahrā)
Iranian Persian: بِیابان (biyâbân), صَحْرا (sahrâ)
Plautdietsch: Eed
Polish: pustynia (pl) f
Portuguese: deserto (pt) m
Punjabi:
Gurmukhi: ਮਾਰੂਥਲ (mārūthal), ਰੇਗਿਸਤਾਨ m (registān), ਸਹਿਰਾ (pa) m (sahirā)
Shahmukhi: ریگِسْتان m (registān), صَحِرا m (ṣaḥirā)
Quechua: ch'in pacha
Romanian: deșert (ro), pustiu (ro)
Romansch: desert m, desiert m, dasiert m
Russian: пусты́ня (ru) f (pustýnja)
Samoan: toafa
Samogitian: dīkīnė f
Sanskrit: मरुभूमि (sa) f (marubhūmi), मरु (sa) m (maru), वालुकाब्धि (sa) (vālukābdhi)
Scottish Gaelic: fàsach m or f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: пу́стиња f
Roman: pústinja (sh) f
Shona: gwenga
Shor: шӧл
Sicilian: disertu (scn)
Silesian: půstyńijo
Sinhalese: කාන්තාර (kāntāra)
Slovak: púšť f
Slovene: puščava (sl) f, pustínja f
Somali: bataax m
Sorbian:
Upper Sorbian: pusćina f
Southern Altai: чӧл (čöl)
Southern Kalinga: lagrakan
Spanish: desierto (es) m
Old Spanish: desierto m, deserto m, disierto m
Sranan Tongo: dreisabana
Swahili: jangwa (sw)
Swedish: öken (sv) c
Tagalog: disyerto
Tajik: биёбон (tg) (biyobon), чӯл (čül), саҳро (tg) (sahro)
Tamil: பாலைவனம் (ta) (pālaivaṉam)
Tarantino: deserte m
Tatar: чүл (tt) (çül)
Telugu: ఎడారి (te) (eḍāri), మరుభూమి (te) (marubhūmi)
Thai: ทะเลทราย (th) (tá-lee-saai)
Tibetan: བྱེ་ཐང (bye thang)
Tocharian B: pälkiye
Tuareg: tenere f
Turkish: çöl (tr)
Turkmen: çöl
Tuvan: кум (kum)
Tuwali Ifugao: mamaga
Ugaritic: 𐎎𐎄𐎁𐎗 (mdbr)
Ukrainian: пусте́ля (uk) f (pustélja), пусти́ня f (pustýnja)
Urdu: ریگِسْتان m (registān), صَحْرا m (sahrā), دَشْت (ur) m (daśt), بَیابان m (bayābān), بِیابان m (biyābān), وِیرانَہ m (vīrāna), مَرُوسْتَھل m (marūsthal)
Uyghur: چۆل (chöl), باياۋان (bayawan)
Uzbek: choʻl (uz), sahro (uz), biyobon (uz)
Vietnamese: sa mạc (vi) (沙漠), hoang mạc (荒漠)
Volapük: däsärt (vo)
Voro: kõrbõ
Waray-Waray: desyerto
Welsh: anialwch (cy), diffeithdir, anialdir (cy) m
West Frisian: woastyn (fy)
Wolof: yay
Xhosa: intlango class 9/10
Yakut: кумах куйаар (kumaq kuyaar)
Yiddish: מדבר m (midber)
Yoruba: aṣálẹ̀
Zulu: umqothu class 3/4, ugwadule class 11/10 :

#### Adjective

desert (not comparable)
* Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited.
    Synonyms: forsaken, peopleless, vacant; see also Thesaurus:abandoned, Thesaurus:uninhabited
    They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific.
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark vi:31: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.
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke ix:10:He […] went aside privately into a desert place.
** 1697, Virgil, “The Eighth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 441, lines 252–255:See, from afar, yon Rock that mates the Sky, / About whoſe Feet ſuch Heaps of Rubbiſh lye: / Such indigeſted Ruin; bleak and bare, / How deſart now it ſtands, expos'd in Air!
** 1750, Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, Stanza 14:Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

##### Translations
#### References

* ↑ Hall, Joseph Sargent (1942 March 2) “1. The Vowel Sounds of Stressed Syllables”, in The Phonetics of Great Smoky Mountain Speech (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 4), New York: King's Crown Press, →DOI, →ISBN, § 12, page 42.

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from French déserter, from Late Latin desertō, from Latin desertus, from deserō (“abandon”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /dɪˈzɜːt/
* (General American) IPA: /dɪˈzɝt/, /dəˈzɝt/
* Audio (US); “desert” (verb):(file)
* Homophone: dessert
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)t

#### Verb

desert (third-person singular simple present deserts, present participle deserting, simple past and past participle deserted)
* 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.
* To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission.
    Anyone found deserting will be punished.

##### Derived terms

* deserter
* desertion
* desert the diet
* undeserting

##### Translations
### Etymology 3

From Middle English desert, deseert, from Old French deserte, from deservir (“to deserve”), from Vulgar Latin dēserviō (“to gain or merit by giving service”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /dɪˈzɜːt/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (General American) IPA: /dɪˈzɝt/, /dəˈzɝt/, enPR: dĭ-'zûrt
* Homophone: dessert
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)t

#### Noun

desert (plural deserts)
* (often in the plural; now chiefly technical (in philosophy) or fossil) That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward.
    just deserts
** 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.
** 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 17”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:Who will believe my verse in time to come, If it were fill'd with your most high deserts?
** July 4, 1789, Alexander Hamilton, Eulogium on Major-General Greene
    His reputation falls far below his desert.
** 1897, Bram Stoker, chapter 21, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:"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!"
** 1971, John Rawls, A Theory of Justice:"It is true that certain common sense precepts of justice, particularly those which concern the protection of liberties and rights, or which express the claims of desert, seem to contradict this contention."
** 2009, Michael J. Sandel, Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?:"For Aristotle, justice means giving people what they deserve, giving each person his or her due. But what is a person due? What are the relevant grounds of merit or desert?"

##### Usage notes

* Sometimes confused with dessert, especially in set phrases such as just deserts.

##### Derived terms

* desertful
* desertless
* desertness
* desert principle
* indesert
* just deserts
* misdesert

##### Translations
### Etymology 4
#### Noun

desert (countable and uncountable, plural deserts)
* Obsolete form of dessert.
** 1790 September 20, George Washington, Letters from George Washington to Tobias Lear: With an Appendix Containing Miscellaneous Washington Letters and Documents; Reprinted from the Originals in the Collection of Mr. William K. Bixby, of St. Louis, Mo.; With Introduction and Notes, Rochester, N.Y., published 1905, page 8: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;—[…]
** 1816, John Simpson, A Complete System of Cookery, on a Plan Entirely New; Consisting of an Extensive and Original Collection of Receipts, in Cookery, Confectionary, etc. […], London: […] W. Stewart, […]; Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, […]; Gale and Fenner, […], pages 518, 525, and 541: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.
** 1818, Peter Hervé, How to Enjoy Paris; Being a Complete Guide to the Visiter of the French Metropolis. […], 2nd edition, London: […] the Author: […] Mr. Egerton, Whitehall; Messrs. Hoitt, […]; and Mesers. Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, […], page 286:The deserts are far more superb; the painter, the florist, the decorator, and even the sculptor being engaged to complete them. Formerly a desert at a splendid fete in a private house has cost a thousand pounds, exclusive of plate and glass.

### Anagrams

* dreest, Deters, rested, deters

## Catalan
### Etymology

First attested in the 14th century. Likely a Semi-learned borrowing from Latin dēsertum.

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Noun

desert m (plural deserts)
* desert (desolate terrain)

### References

* ↑ “desert”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

### Further reading

* “desert” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “desert” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “desert” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Friulian
### Alternative forms

* disiert

### Etymology

From Latin dēsertum (in this form possibly a semi-learned term; cf. the variant form).

### Noun

desert m (plural deserts)
* desert

## Middle English
### Etymology 1

From Old French deserte (“deserved”), from deservir (“to deserve”), from Vulgar Latin dēserviō (“to gain or merit by giving service”).

#### Alternative forms

* deserte, deseert, desserte, decert, decerte, disert, dissert, dyssert

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /dɛːˈzɛrt/, /dɛˈzɛrt/, /-sɛrt/

#### Noun

desert (plural desertes)
* The situation of deserving something.
* That which is deserved or merited; desert.
* An action or deed which invites or prompts judgement.
* worth, virtuousness, benefit; that which is good.

##### Descendants

* English: desert

##### References

* “dē̆sert, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* “desert, n.1.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1895.

### Etymology 2

From Old French desert, from Latin dēsertum, past participle of dēserō (“to abandon”).

#### Alternative forms

* deserte, deseert, desarte, decert, disert, diserte, dysserte, dezert, deserd

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈdɛzɛrt/, /dɛˈzɛrt/, /dɛː-/, /-sɛrt/, /-art/

#### Noun

desert (plural desertes)
* wilderness (unpopulated, bare land)
** c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎, published c. 1410, Joon 1:23, page 43v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:he ſeide / I am a vois of a crier in deſert .· dꝛeſſe ȝe þe weie of þe loꝛd. as yſaie þe pꝛophete ſeideHe said: "I am the voice of a crier in the wilderness; straighten the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said."

##### Descendants

* English: desert
* Scots: desert

##### References

* “dē̆sert, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

#### Adjective

desert
* (of places) barren, wild
* (usually of places) deserted, abandoned

##### Descendants

* English: desert

##### References

* “dē̆sert, ppl.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

## Middle French
### Etymology

From Old French desert.

### Noun

desert m (plural desers)
* desert (desolate terrain)

#### Descendants

* French: désert

## Old French
### Etymology

Probably borrowed from Latin dēsertum.

### Noun

desert oblique singular, m (oblique plural deserz or desertz, nominative singular deserz or desertz, nominative plural desert)
* desert (desolate terrain)

#### Descendants

* Middle French: desert
** French: désert

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French dessert.

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Noun

desert n (plural deserturi)
* dessert

#### Declension
## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French dessert.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /děsert/
* Hyphenation: de‧sert

### Noun

dèsert m (Cyrillic spelling дѐсерт)
* dessert
    Antonym: predjelo

#### Declension
### References

* “desert”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025