deserts
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des·ert 1
(dĕz′ərt)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 and uninhabited region.
adj.
1. Of, relating to, characteristic of, or inhabiting a desert: desert fauna.
2. Wild and uninhabited: a desert island.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin dēsertum, from neuter past participle of dēserere, to desert; see desert3.]
de·sert 2
(dĭ-zûrt′)n.
1. often deserts Something that is deserved or merited, especially a punishment: They got their just deserts when the scheme was finally uncovered.
2. The state or fact of deserving reward or punishment.
[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; merit," 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 dēservīre, "to devote oneself to the service of," which in Vulgar Latin came to mean "to merit by service." Dēservīre is made up of dē-, meaning "thoroughly," and servīre, "to serve." Knowing this, we can distinguish this desert from desert, "a wasteland," and desert, "to abandon," both of which go back to Latin dēserere, "to forsake, leave uninhabited," which is made up of dē-, 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 servīre), "to serve," hence, "to unserve" or "to clear the table."
de·sert 3
(dĭ-zûrt′)v. de·sert·ed, de·sert·ing, de·serts
v.tr.
1. To leave empty or alone; abandon.
2. To withdraw from, especially in spite of a responsibility or duty; forsake: deserted her friend in a time of need.
3. To abandon (a military post, for example) in violation of orders or an oath.
v.intr.
To forsake one's duty or post, especially to be absent without leave from the armed forces with no intention of returning.
[French déserter, from Late Latin dēsertāre, frequentative of Latin dēserere, to abandon : dē-, de- + serere, to join; see ser- in Indo-European roots.]
de·sert′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Deserts
See also environment.
a religious hermit living alone, often in the desert. — eremitic, adj.
the systematic study of desert features and phenomena.
an abnormal fear of dryness and dry places, as deserts.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | deserts - an outcome (good or bad) that is well deserved aftermath, consequence - the outcome of an event especially as relative to an individual |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
deserts
plural nounjust deserts due, payment, reward, punishment, right, return, retribution, recompense, come-uppance (slang), meed (archaic), requital, guerdon (poetic) At the end of the book the bad guys get their just deserts.
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Translations
deserts
[dɪˈzɜːts] NPL to get one's just deserts → llevarse su merecidoto give sb his/her just deserts → dar a algn su merecido
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deserts
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