Cease - Latin to cessare meaning "to yield", then Old French. Desist - Latin to stare (sta-re, not homonym of stair) meaning "to stand", then (still) Latin to

Cease - Latin to cessare meaning "to yield", then Old French. Desist - Latin to stare (sta-re, not homonym of stair) meaning "to stand", then (still) Latin to "sistere" meaning "to stop" plus prefix de, which in this context is "an order (from top, aka court) to down (aka to you)", then Old French. Huh. So this is basically court-enforced stop and yielding to the other party.