desert [ME] There are three words spelled desert, two of which are related. The word for ‘a waterless, desolate area’, and the (differently pronounced) word meaning ‘to abandon’ [LME] both ultimately go back to Latin deserere ‘to leave, forsake’. The third desert [ME] usually appears in phrases such as to get your just deserts, ‘to receive what you deserve’. It derives from Latin deservire ‘to serve well’, the source of deserve [ME]. The dessert [M16th] with a double ‘s’ meaning ‘a sweet course served at the end of a meal’, is from French desservir ‘to clear the table’.