Picture the moment everyone walks away and does not come back. What is left is a place with nobody in it — and that is exactly what a desert is, historically: a forsaken land. Once you see the abandoning inside the sand, the two halves of this word stop looking like a coincidence: the soldier who leaves his post, the village everyone moves out of, and the courage that walks out on you just when you need it are all the same act.
From the word’s history
Both halves go back to Latin deserere 'to abandon, leave, forsake' (de- 'undo' + serere 'join together'). The noun comes from Late Latin desertum, literally 'thing abandoned', used in the Vulgate to translate 'wilderness'; the verb comes through French déserter from Late Latin desertare. So the sandy region is named for being forsaken, not for being dry.
兩邊都回到拉丁文 deserere「拋棄、離開」（de-「解開」＋ serere「連結」）。名詞來自晚期拉丁文 desertum，字面就是「被丟下的東西」，後來在拉丁文聖經裡拿來翻譯「曠野」；動詞則經法文 déserter 進入英文。也就是說，沙漠這個地方是因為「沒有人要」而得名，而不是因為乾。這條線是有出處的，不是為了好記編出來的比喻。
Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entry 'desert'
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。
原始詞典資料8 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
desertnoun詞源 1/ˈdɛz.ət/
- 1
A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
- And ye poore Pilgrimes, that vvith reſtleſſe toyle VVearie your ſelues in vvandring deſert vvayes […]
- Not thus the land appear'd in ages past, A dreary desert and a gloomy waste.
- 2
A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
- It is wholly out of the power of language to convey any idea of the blissful enjoyment of obtaining water, after an almost total want of it, during eight and forty hours, in the scorching regions of an Arabian desert, in the month of July.
- The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them.
- 3
Any barren place or situation.
- He declared that the country was an intellectual desert; that he was famishing for spiritual aliment, and for discourse on matters beyond mere nuggets, prospectings, and the price of gold.
- By contrast, the WR route is an economic desert between Newbury and Taunton.
desertadj詞源 1/ˈdɛz.ət/
- 1
Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited.
- They were marooned on a desert island in the Pacific.
- And he said vnto them, Come yee your selues apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many comming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eate.
desertverb詞源 2/dɪˈzɜːt/
- 1
To leave (anything that depends on one's presence to survive, exist, or succeed), especially when contrary to a promise or obligation; to abandon; to forsake.
- You can't just drive off and desert me here, in the middle of nowhere.
- 2
To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission.
- Anyone found deserting will be punished.
desertnoun詞源 3/dɪˈzɜːt/
- 1
That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward.
- just deserts
- From the highest spire of contentment / my fortune is thrown; / and fear and grief and pain for my deserts / are my hopes, since hope is gone.
這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形：
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。