As a noun, a desert is a very dry, often sandy area with little rain and few plants. As a verb, to desert means to leave someone or something behind, especially in a disloyal way.
The noun comes from Latin "desertum" meaning "something left waste" or "abandoned," through Old French. The verb shares the same Latin root, focusing on the idea of leaving or abandoning.
The dry land "desert" and the verb "to desert" are actually cousins: a desert is land that has been "abandoned" by water. The stress pattern even changes the meaning: DES-ert (place) vs. de-SERT (to abandon).
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