5 ms·
The etymology of the word (think deserted island) would imply it has more to do with the lack of life than the reason for a lack of life.
by kobeya 9y ago
The etymology of the word (think deserted island) would imply it has more to do with the lack of life than the reason for a lack of life.
- mitchtbaum 9y agoEtymology of desert: from Latin desertus, from desero (“abandon”) From dē- (“away, from”) + serō (“I bind, join”). From Proto-Italic sizō, from Proto-Indo-European si-sh₁-, the reduplicated present of *seh₁- (“to sow”). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desert#Etymology_3 https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desert#Etymology_3 https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desero#Latin https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desero#Latin https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sero#Latin https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sero#Latin
- guelo 9y agoIn verb and adjective form anything can be deserted, a husband deserting his wife, a deserted village. In noun form I've heard of things like food deserts to describe urban area without grocery or restaurants. Also places like Antartica are sometimes described as deserts. Also ocean deserts to describe areas without fish.
- Sharlin 9y agoAntarctica is a desert by the strict "low precipitation" definition. The Dry Valleys are some of the driest places on Earth.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- quotemstr 9y agoRight. That's the sense (solitude) of "desert" in Tacitus's famous quip about the Romans: "they make a desert and call it peace".