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désert

Etymology and origin of the French word désert

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland
Borrowed from
Latin desertus
Ultimate origin
Latin (dēserō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.zɛʁ/[1]

Forms

désert (adjective; feminine déserte, plurals déserts, désertes); désert m (noun; plural déserts)[1]

Etymology

The adjective is borrowed from Latin dēsertus (“abandoned; uncultivated, desert”),[2][3][4][5][6] the past participle, used as an adjective, of dēserō (“to leave, abandon, desert”).[3][5] That verb was at first a military term, “to desert”, and is the opposite, with the prefix dē-, of serō (“to join in a row, link, bind”), the verb behind série, insérer and assertion.[3][7] The noun is taken from Imperial Latin dēsertum (“desert, solitude”), in classical Latin only the neuter plural dēserta.[2][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg note that its form does not show whether it was handed down or taken from Latin.[4]

Cognate with Italian deserto, Old Occitan dezert, Catalan desert, Spanish desierto and Portuguese deserto.[4][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has the adjective both of untilled land and of a place emptied of its people: Puis icel jour en fut cent ans deserte “from that day it was a waste for a hundred years”.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the adjective was also said of a person: ruined, stripped, abandoned; in legal language it meant “void, without effect”.[3][4] Until the 17th century it could still describe a person left alone, but its meaning narrowed to places.[5][9]

The noun is found in the plural, deserz, in the Roland manuscript, Wace (1135) uses it for a dry, uninhabited region.[2] Jean de Meun (1269–78) speaks figuratively of “this worldly desert”, Racan (1618) of a little-frequented place or solitary retreat, and Buffon (1788) of an absence or lack.[2] Phrases include prêcher dans le désert “to preach to deaf ears”, after John the Baptist, and the figure of the desert crossing for a period out of favour.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – The adjective, Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • 1135 – The noun for a dry, uninhabited region, Wace.[2]
  • 1269–78 – Figurative use, Jean de Meun.[2]
  • 1618 – “Solitary retreat”, Racan.[2]
  • 1788 – “Absence, lack”, Buffon.[2]
  • 1919 – Military slang désert for a deserter.[10]
  • 1929 – The derivative désertique.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Uninhabited: une île déserte.[9][1]
  2. deserted, empty of people: une rue déserte.[9][1]
  3. (classical) Of a person, left alone, abandoned.[9][5]

Noun

  1. A desert, a dry region with little vegetation and few inhabitants.[7][1]
  2. (dated) An uninhabited or little-frequented place; a remote spot.[7]
  3. (figurative) A place without life or interest; solitude, emptiness: un désert culturel.[7]
  4. Prêcher (parler) dans le désert: to speak without being listened to.[7]

Word family

  • désertion
  • série
  • insérer

Usage notes

In soldiers' slang of the First World War désert was a clipping of déserteur (porté désert, 1921).[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 52b
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Désert.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9sert. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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