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desero

Etymology and origin of the Latin word desero

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (serō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈdeː.sɛ.roː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdɛː.s̬e.ro][1]

Forms

dēserō (present infinitive dēserere, perfect active dēseruī, supine dēsertum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from dē- (“away”) and serō “to join, link”: to sever one's connection.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citations are from Plautus, of forsaking and failing someone.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to part from, forsake, leave a person, to abandon a place, as Cicero's abandoned fields, and to leave in a given state, as in Virgil.[2][6] It meant to withdraw support, leave in the lurch, as in Plautus, of things to fail one, of doctors to give up a patient, as in Celsus, and in war to desert, as in Nepos.[2] It meant to abandon an activity, to fall short of a standard, and with vadimōnium to break one's bail, as in Cicero.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to neglect, forsake, desert.[7] English desert “to abandon” came through French déserter about 1600, and English desert “wasteland” from its participle dēsertum about 1200.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of forsaking someone.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of abandoned fields and breaking bail.[2][6][5]
  • c. 100–24 BC – Nepos uses it of military desertion.[2][5]
  • c. 1600 – English desert (verb) is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To forsake, leave; to abandon (a place).[2]
  2. To leave in the lurch, fail.[2]
  3. (military) To desert.[2]
  4. To give up (an activity).[2]
  5. (passive) To be deprived of.[2]

Word family

  • dēsertiō
  • dēsertor
  • dēsertrīx
  • indēsertus

Usage notes

A rare homograph dēserō, from dē- and serō “to sow”, meant to sow, plant, as in Varro.[3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Desero.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/desero. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·