désert French · revision 16728

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland|origins=la dēserō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /de.zɛʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''désert''' (adjective; feminine ''déserte'', plurals ''déserts'', ''désertes''); '''désert''' ''m'' (noun; plural ''déserts'')^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is [[bor|la|dēsertus|t=abandoned; uncultivated, desert]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|3, 52b) the past participle, used as an adjective, of [[m|la|dēserō|t=to leave, abandon, desert]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) That verb was at first a military term, “to desert”, and is the opposite, with the prefix [[m|la|dē-]], of [[m|la|serō|t=to join in a row, link, bind]], the verb behind [[série]], [[insérer]] and [[assertion]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) The noun is taken from Imperial Latin [[m|la|dēsertum|t=desert, solitude]], in classical Latin only the neuter plural [[m|la|dēserta]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) Bloch and Wartburg note that its form does not show whether it was handed down or taken from Latin.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|deserto]], [[pro|dezert]], [[ca|desert]], [[es|desierto]] and [[pt|deserto]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==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”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old French the adjective was also said of a person: ruined, stripped, abandoned; in legal language it meant “void, without effect”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Until the 17th century it could still describe a person left alone, but its meaning narrowed to places.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ The noun is found in the plural, ''deserz'', in the Roland manuscript, Wace (1135) uses it for a dry, uninhabited region.^(TLFi) 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.^(TLFi) 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.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – The adjective, ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1135 – The noun for a dry, uninhabited region, Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1269–78 – Figurative use, Jean de Meun.^(TLFi)

+ * 1618 – “Solitary retreat”, Racan.^(TLFi)

+ * 1788 – “Absence, lack”, Buffon.^(TLFi)

+ * 1919 – Military slang ''désert'' for a deserter.^(BHVF)

+ * 1929 – The derivative [[désertique]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Uninhabited: ''une île déserte''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|deserted]], empty of people: ''une rue déserte''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(classical)'' Of a person, left alone, abandoned.^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|desert]], a dry region with little vegetation and few inhabitants.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated)'' An uninhabited or little-frequented place; a remote spot.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A place without life or interest; [[m|en|solitude]], emptiness: ''un désert culturel''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Prêcher'' (''parler'') ''dans le désert'': to speak without being listened to.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[déserter]]

+ * [[déserteur]]

+ * [[désertique]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[désertion]]

+ * [[série]]

+ * [[insérer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

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

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}