desert

Etymology 1

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

noun

1. (usually in the plural) That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward.
   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. 1600, John Dowland, Flow My Tears
   July 4, 1789, Alexander Hamilton, Eulogium on Major-General Greene His reputation falls far below his desert.
   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. 1971, John Rawls, A Theory of Justice

Etymology 2

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

noun

1. A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
   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. 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid
   1. (informal) In particular, a barren, arid area of land which is hot, with sandy, rocky, or parched ground.
2. (figurative) Any barren place or situation.
   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. 1858, William Howitt, Land, Labour, and Gold; Or, Two Years in Victoria, page 54
   By contrast, the WR route is an economic desert between Newbury and Taunton. 1964 March, “News and Comment: Which way to the West?”, in Modern Railways, page 147
   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? 2006, Philip N. Cooke, Creative Industries in Wales: Potential and Pitfalls, page 34

adj

1. Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited.
   They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific.
   Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 1750, Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, Stanza 14

Etymology 3

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

verb

1. 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.
2. To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission.
   Anyone found deserting will be punished.

Etymology 4

noun

1. Obsolete form of dessert.
   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;—[…] 20 September 1790, 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
   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. 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
   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. 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