desert (redirected from deserting)

des·ert ¹  (dzrt)

n.

1. A barren or desolate area, especially:

a. A dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation.

b. A region of permanent cold that is largely or entirely devoid of life.

c. An apparently lifeless area of water.

2. An empty or forsaken place; a wasteland: a cultural desert.

3. Archaic A wild, uncultivated, and uninhabited region.

adj.

1. Of, relating to, characteristic of, or inhabiting a desert: desert fauna.

2. Barren and uninhabited; desolate: a desert island.

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin dsertum, from neuter past participle of dserere, to desert; see desert³.]

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de·sert ²  (d-zûrt)

n.

1. Something that is deserved or merited, especially a punishment. Often used in the plural: They got their just deserts when the scheme was finally uncovered.

2. The state or fact of deserving reward or punishment.

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[Middle English, from Old French deserte, from feminine past participle of deservir, to deserve; see deserve.]

Word History: When Shakespeare says in Sonnet 72, "Unless you would devise some virtuous lie,/To do more for me than mine own desert," he is using the word desert in the sense of "worthiness; deserving," a word perhaps most familiar to us in the plural, meaning "something that is deserved," as in the phrase just deserts. This word goes back to the Latin word dservre, "to devote oneself to the service of," which in Vulgar Latin came to mean "to merit by service." Dservre is made up of d-, meaning "thoroughly," and servre, "to serve." Knowing this, we can distinguish this desert from desert, "a wasteland," and desert, "to abandon," both of which go back to Latin dserere, "to forsake, leave uninhabited," which is made up of d-, expressing the notion of undoing, and the verb serere, "to link together." We can also distinguish all three deserts from dessert, "a sweet course at the end of a meal," which is from the French word desservir, "to clear the table." Desservir is made up of des-, expressing the notion of reversal, and servir (from Latin servre), "to serve," hence, "to unserve" or "to clear the table."

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desert ¹

Noun

a region that has little or no vegetation because of low rainfall [Church Latin desertum]

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desert ²

Verb

1. to abandon (a person or place) without intending to return

2. Chiefly mil to leave (a post or duty) with no intention of returning [Latin deserere]

deserted adj
deserter n
desertion n

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desert  (dzrt)

A large, dry, barren region, usually having sandy or rocky soil and little or no vegetation. Water lost to evaporation and transpiration in a desert exceeds the amount of precipitation; most deserts average less than 25 cm (9.75 inches) of precipitation each year, concentrated in short local bursts. Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface, with the principal warm deserts located mainly along the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, where warm, rising equatorial air masses that have already lost most of their moisture descend over the subtropical regions. Cool deserts are located at higher elevations in the temperate regions, often on the lee side of a barrier mountain range where the prevailing winds drop their moisture before crossing the range.

A Closer Look A desert is defined not by temperature but by the sparse amount of water found in a region. An area with an annual rainfall of fewer than 25 centimeters (9.75 inches) generally qualifies as a desert. In spite of the dryness, however, some animals and plants have adapted to desert life and thrive in these harsh environments. While different animals live in different types of deserts, the dominant animals of warm deserts are reptiles, including snakes and lizards, small mammals, such as ground squirrels and mice, and arthropods, such as scorpions and beetles. These animals are usually nocturnal, spending the day resting in the shade of plants or burrowed in the ground, and emerging in the evenings to hunt or eat. Warm-desert plants are mainly ground-hugging shrubs, small wooded trees, and cacti. Plant and animal life is scarcer in the cool desert, where the precipitation falls mainly as snow. Plants are generally scattered mosses and grasses that are able to survive the cold by remaining low to the ground, avoiding the wind, and animal life can include both large and small mammals, such as deer and jackrabbits, as well as a variety of raptors and other birds.

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Desert of lapwing: flock of lapwing—Bk. of St. Albans, 1486.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	desert - arid land with little or no vegetation biome - a major biotic community characterized by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate oasis - a fertile tract in a desert (where the water table approaches the surface) parcel of land, piece of ground, piece of land, tract, parcel - an extended area of land
Verb	1.	desert - leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; "The mother deserted her children" desolate, forsake, abandon leave - go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or forgetfulness; "She left a mess when she moved out"; "His good luck finally left him"; "her husband left her after 20 years of marriage"; "she wept thinking she had been left behind" expose - abandon by leaving out in the open air; "The infant was exposed by the teenage mother"; "After Christmas, many pets get abandoned" walk out - leave suddenly, often as an expression of disapproval; "She walked out on her husband and children" ditch - forsake; "ditch a lover" maroon, strand - leave stranded or isolated with little hope of rescue; "the travellers were marooned"
	2.	desert - desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army; "If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot" defect flee, take flight, fly - run away quickly; "He threw down his gun and fled" rat - desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for one's personal advantage
	3.	desert - leave behind; "the students deserted the campus after the end of exam period" go forth, leave, go away - go away from a place; "At what time does your train leave?"; "She didn't leave until midnight"; "The ship leaves at midnight"

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desert ¹

noun 1. wilderness, waste, wilds, wasteland

adjective 2. barren, dry, waste, wild, empty, bare, lonely, solitary, desolate, arid, unproductive, infertile, uninhabited, uncultivated, unfruitful, untilled

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desert ²

verb 1. abandon, leave, give up, quit (informal) withdraw from, move out of, relinquish, renounce, vacate, forsake, go away from, leave empty, relinquish possession of

verb 2. leave, abandon, strand, betray, maroon, walk out on (informal) forsake, jilt, run out on (informal) throw over, leave stranded, leave high and dry, leave (someone) in the lurch << OPPOSITE take care of

verb 3. abscond, defect, decamp, go over the hill Military (slang)

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desert

noun just deserts due, payment, reward, punishment, right, return, retribution, recompense, come-uppance (slang) meed (archaic) requital, guerdon (poetic)

Translations

desert n [ˈdɛzət]

vb [dɪˈzəːt]

n → desierto

vt → abandonar, desamparar

vi (MIL) → desertar see also deserts

desert n [ˈdɛzət]

vb [dɪˈzəːt]

n → désert m

vt → déserter, abandonner

vi (Mil) → déserter

desert n [ˈdɛzət]

vb [dɪˈzəːt]

n → Wüste f

vt → verlassen

vi → desertieren see also deserts

desert n [ˈdɛzət] → deserto

vb [dɪˈzəːt]

vt → lasciare, abbandonare

vi (MIL) → disertare see also deserts

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desert¹

v desert [diˈzəːt]

1 to go away from and leave without help etc; to leave or abandon Why did you desert us?verlaatيَهْجُر، يَتْرُكизоставямopustitforlade; svigte; lade i stikkenverlassenεγκαταλείπωabandonarmaha jätmaترک کردن؛ رها کردنhylätäabandonnerלִנטוֹשवीरान हो जानाnapustitielhagymeninggalkanyfirgefa, fara fráabbandonare見捨てる버리다, 돌보지 않다palikti, apleistiatstāt; pamestabaiin de steek latenforlate, løpe fra, svikteopuszczaćabandonara părăsiпокидатьopustiťzapustitinapustitiövergeทอดทิ้งterk etmek遺棄；背離покидати, залишатиبے سہارا چھوڑ جاناbỏ đi遗弃；背离

2 to run away, usually from the army He was shot for trying to desert.wegdrosيَهْرُب (من الجَيْش)бягамzběhnoutflygte; deserterefahnenflüchtig werdenλιποτακτώdesertardeserteerimaفرار کردنkaratadéserterלַעֲרוֹקछोड़ देनाdezertiratimegszökik, dezertálmelarikan dirigerast liðhlaupidisertare脱走する도망치다, 탈영하다dezertyruotidezertēttinggalkan tanpa izindeserterendesertere, rømmedezerterowaćdesertara dezertaдезертироватьzbehnúťdezertiratidezertiratideserteraหนีทหารfirar etmek開小差дезертируватиفراری ہونا ، عموما فوج سےđào ngũ开小差

adj deˈserted

1 with no people etc The streets are completely deserted.verlateمَهْجورбезлюденpustýøde; forladtausgestorbenέρημοςdesiertotühiمتروکه؛ خالی از سکنهautiodésertנטושवीरानnapuštenlakatlankosongyfirgefinndeserto人けのない사람이 살지 않는tuščias, negyvenamastukšs; pameststiada orangverlatenforlatt, øde, folketomopuszczonydesertopustiuбезлюдныйpustýzapuščenpustödeซึ่งรกร้างterk edilmiş, boş無人(居住)的безлюдний; спустілийاجاڑhoang vắng无人（居住）的

2 abandoned his deserted wife and children.verlateمَهجور، مَتْروكизоставенopuštěnýforladeverlassenεγκαταλελειμένοςabandonadomahajäetudرها شده؛ بی سرپرست گذاشته شدهhylättyabandonnéנָטוּשपरित्यक्तostavljenelhagyottditinggalkanyfirgefaabbandonato見捨てられた버림받은pamestas, paliktaspamestsbuangin de steek gelatenforlate, svikteporzuconyabandonadopără­sitпокинутыйopustenýzapuščennapuštenövergivenซึ่งถูกทอดทิ้งterk edilmiş拋棄的покинутий, залишенийمتروکbị bỏ mặc抛弃的

n deˈserter

a man who deserts from the army etc. droster, wegloperفارٌّ من الجُنْدِيَّهдезертьорzběhdesertørder Fahnenflüchtigeλιποτάκτηςdesertorväejooksikفراریsotilaskarkuridéserteurעוֹרֶקभगोड़ाdezerter(katona)szökevénydesertirliðhlaupidisertore脱走兵도망자, 탈영병dezertyrasdezertierisorang yang meninggalkan tentera tanpa izindeserteurdesertør, overløperdezerterdesertordezertorдезертирzbehdezerterdezerterdesertörคนหนีทหารkaçak, firari開小差的士兵，逃兵дезертирفراریkẻ đảo ngũ开小差的士兵，逃兵

n deˈsertion [-ʃən]

(an) act of deserting. verlaat, wegloopهَجْر، تَرْكдезертиранеzběhnutídesertering; flugtdas Verlassenεγκατάλειψη, λιποταξίαdeserciónmahajätmine, deserteerimineترک؛ رهاسازی؛ فرارhylkääminen, karkaaminendésertionנְטִישָׁה, עָרִיקָהत्यागnapuštanje, ostavljanjeszökés, dezertálásdesersiliðhlaupdiserzione見捨てること버림, 유기, 황폐함, 탈영pametimas, dezertyravimaspamešana; dezertēšanapengabaiandesertiefrafall, svikt; desertering, fanefluktopuszczenie, dezercjadeserçãodezertareдезертирствоdezerciapobegnapuštanjedesertering, övergivandeการทอดทิ้ง; การหนีทหารterk etme, bırakıp gitme拋棄дезертирствоفرار ہونے کا عملsự bỏ mặc; sự đào ngũ抛弃