Etymologically
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déserter

Etymology and origin of the French word déserter

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland
Ultimate origin
Latin (dēserō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French déserter
English desert

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.zɛʁ.te/[1]

Forms

déserter[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin dēsertāre,[2][1][3] formed on Latin dēsertus (“abandoned”), the past participle of Latin dēserere (“to abandon, forsake”), Medieval Latin used it for “to abandon (a country); to lay waste” (early 9th century).[2][4] The Grand Robert and the GLLF derive it from French désert.[5][6] Compare Italian desertare, Spanish desertar and Old Occitan dezertar.[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has it for laying waste, making a place uninhabited;[2] the Grand Robert and the GLLF find it about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis.[5][6] Roncevaux laments France belle ! come es hui desertée de bons vassaus.[7]

Semantic evolution

Until the 17th century it meant chiefly “to abandon a person” and “to make a place deserted”; from the late 13th century it also meant to abandon a place or a thing.[4][2] Richelet (1680) records the military sense, to leave the army without leave, which the Petit Robert describes as taken up again from Italian in the 17th century.[2][8] Figuratively one deserts a cause or a party (Baudelaire), and things desert a person (Gide).[6][8] Déserteur (13th century) followed the same development.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – In the Vie de saint Alexis.[5]
  • c. 1100 – “To lay waste”, in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • 13th century – Déserteur.[4]
  • Late 13th century – “To abandon (a place)”.[2]
  • 1680 – To desert the army, in Richelet.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To desert, abandon (a place): déserter son poste, village déserté.[8][1]
  2. (intransitive, military) To desert.[8][9]
  3. (figurative) To abandon, betray (a cause, a party).[8][6]
  4. (dated) To lay waste, depopulate.[6]

Word family

  • déserteur
  • désertion
  • désert
  • Latin dēsertus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 52b
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Déserter.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9serter. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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