DESERT

I. noun see: series Date: 13th century 1. arid land with usually sparse vegetation, an area of water apparently devoid of life, a wild uninhabited and uncultivated tract, a desolate or forbidding area , ~ic adjective ~like adjective II. adjective Date: 13th century desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied , of or relating to a ~, forsaken, III. noun Etymology: Middle English ~e, from Anglo-French, from feminine of ~, past participle of deservir to deserve Date: 13th century the quality or fact of deserving reward or punishment, deserved reward or punishment, excellence , worth , IV. verb Etymology: French déserter, from Late Latin ~are, frequentative of Latin deserere Date: 1603 transitive verb to withdraw from or leave usually without intent to return , 2. to leave in the lurch , to abandon (military service) without leave, intransitive verb to quit one's post, allegiance, or service without leave or justification, see: abandon ~er noun