Desert

Domain	Definition
Bible	Desert (1.) Heb. midbar, "pasture-ground;" an open tract for pasturage; a common (Joel 2:22). The "backside of the desert" (Ex. 3:1) is the west of the desert, the region behind a man, as the east is the region in front. The same Hebrew word is rendered "wildernes," and is used of the country lying between Egypt and Palestine (Gen. 21:14, 21; Ex. 4:27; 19:2; Josh. 1:4), the wilderness of the wanderings. It was a grazing tract, where the flocks and herds of the Israelites found pasturage during the whole of their journey to the Promised Land. The same Hebrew word is used also to denote the wilderness of Arabia, which in winter and early spring supplies good pasturage to the flocks of the nomad tribes than roam over it (1 Kings 9:18). The wilderness of Judah is the mountainous region along the western shore of the Dead Sea, where David fed his father's flocks (1 Sam. 17:28; 26:2). Thus in both of these instances the word denotes a country without settled inhabitants and without streams of water, but having good pasturage for cattle; a country of wandering tribes, as distinguished from that of a settled people (Isa. 35:1; 50:2; Jer. 4:11). Such, also, is the meaning of the word "wilderness" in Matt. 3:3; 15:33; Luke 15:4. (2.) The translation of the Hebrew _Aribah'_, "an arid tract" (Isa. 35:1, 6; 40:3; 41:19; 51:3, etc.). The name Arabah is specially applied to the deep valley of the Jordan (the Ghor of the Arabs), which extends from the lake of Tiberias to the Elanitic gulf. While _midbar_ denotes properly a pastoral region, _arabah_ denotes a wilderness. It is also translated "plains;" as "the plains of Jericho" (Josh. 5:10; 2 Kings 25:5), "the plains of Moab" (Num. 22:1; Deut. 34:1, 8), "the plains of the wilderness" (2 Sam. 17:16). (3.) In the Revised Version of Num. 21:20 the Hebrew word _jeshimon_ is properly rendered "desert," meaning the waste tracts on both shores of the Dead Sea. This word is also rendered "desert" in Ps. 78:40; 106:14; Isa. 43:19, 20. It denotes a greater extent of uncultivated country than the other words so rendered. It is especially applied to the desert of the peninsula of Arabia (Num. 21:20; 23:28), the most terrible of all the deserts with which the Israelites were acquainted. It is called "the desert" in Ex. 23:31; Deut. 11:24. (See JESHIMON.) (4.) A dry place; hence a desolation (Ps. 9:6), desolate (Lev. 26:34); the rendering of the Hebrew word _horbah'_. It is rendered "desert" only in Ps. 102:6, Isa. 48:21, and Ezek. 13:4, where it means the wilderness of Sinai. (5.) This word is the symbol of the Jewish church when they had forsaken God (Isa. 40:3). Nations destitute of the knowledge of God are called a "wilderness" (32:15, _midbar_). It is a symbol of temptation, solitude, and persecution (Isa. 27:10, _midbar_; 33:9, _arabah_). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Dream Interpretation	To dream of wandering through a gloomy and barren desert, denotes famine and uprisal of races and great loss of life and property. For a young woman to find herself alone in a desert, her health and reputation is being jeopardized by her indiscretion. She should be more cautious. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....
Geological	A region with an average annual rainfall of 10 inches or less. (references)
Public Administration	A region of very poor rainfall, very high dryness(WMO dryness rate above 10), extremely poor vegetation, loose sandy non-arable land and scarce population. Source: European Union. (references)
Science	A land area so dry that little or no plant life can survive. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Specialty Definition: Desert

Synonyms within Context: Desert

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Absence	Empty, void; vacant, vacuous; untenanted, unoccupied, uninhabited; tenantless; barren, sterile; desert, deserted; devoid; uninhabitable.
Avoidance	Beat a retreat; turn tail, turn one's back; take to one's heels; runaway, run for one's life; cut and run; be off like a shot; fly, flee; fly away, flee away, run away from; take flight, take to flight; desert, elope; make off, scamper off, sneak off, shuffle off, sheer off; break away, tear oneself away, slip away, slink away, steel away, make away from, scamper away from, sneak away from, shuffle away from, sheer away from; slip cable, part company, turn one's heel; sneak out of, play truant, give one the go by, give leg bail, take French leave, slope, decamp, flit, bolt, abscond, levant, skedaddle, absquatulate, cut one's stick, walk one's chalks, show a light pair of heels, make oneself scarce; escape; go away; (depart); abandon; reject.
Peace	Phrase: the storm blown over; the lion lies down with the lamb; "all quiet on the Potomac"; paritur pax bello; "peace hath her victories no less renowned than war"; "they make a desert and they call it peace".
Plain	Noun: plain, table-land, face of the country; open country, champaign country; basin, downs, waste, weary waste, desert, wild, steppe, pampas, savanna, prairie, heath, common, wold, veldt; moor, moorland; bush; plateau. (level); campagna; alkali flat, llano; mesa, mesilla, playa; shaking prairie, trembling prairie; vega.
Relinquishment	Verb: relinquish, give up, abandon, desert, forsake, leave in the lurch; go back on; depart from, secede from, withdraw from; back out of; leave, quit, take leave of, bid a long farewell; vacate; (resign).
Resignation	Abrogate; desert; (relinquish); get rid of.
Unproductiveness	Waste, desert, Sahara, wild, wilderness, howling wilderness.
Virtue	Merit, worth, desert, excellence, credit; self-control; (resolution); self-denial; (temperance).
Waste	Waste its sweetness on the desert air ; cast one's bread upon the waters, cast pearls before swine; employ a steam engine to crack a nut, waste powder and shot, break a butterfly on a wheel; labor in vain; (useless); cut blocks with a razor, pour water into a sieve.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Modern Usage: Desert

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Welcome to the desert of the real (The Matrix; writing credit: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski) And I promise you I'll never desert you again because after 'Salome' we'll make another picture and another picture (Sunset Blvd.; writing credit: Charles Brackett) And then in the desert, when the sun comes up, I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began (Forrest Gump; writing credit: Eric Roth) We're in the desert! (Casablanca; writing credit: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. Based on the play 'Everybody Comes to Rick's' by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison.) Anything found in the desert of a frustrated life can bring hope (The Devils; writing credit: Aldous Huxley; Ken Russell)
Lyrics	The Sahara Desert is very big (Ice Machine In The Desert; performing artist: Brave Combo) This desert rose (Desert Rose; performing artist: Sting) Flying across the desert in a TWA, (Brown Eyed Handsome Man; performing artist: Chuck Berry) Lost at sea, hide the desert (Muscles; performing artist: Diana Ross) On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair (Hotel California; performing artist: EAGLES)
Clever	Too much sun makes a desert. (references; author: Arabian Proverb) All sunshine makes a desert. (references; author: unknown)
Movie/TV Titles	The Desert Raven (1965) Sands of the Desert (1960) Desert Mice (1959) Return to the Desert (1956) Desert Sands (1955)
Song Titles	Desert Rose (performing artist: Sting)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Commercial Usage: Desert

Domain	Title
References	Desert Community Bank: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference) Palm Desert Art, Inc.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference) (more reference examples)

Books	Rick Joy: Desert Works (reference) Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail (reference) Welcome to the Desert of the Real: Five Essays on September 11 and Related Dates (reference) (more book examples)

Periodicals	City Az Desert Living (reference) Desert Connections (reference) Desert Dispatch-daily (reference) Desert Plants (reference) Desert Post Weekly (reference) (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies	Desert Hearts (reference) The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (reference) The Desert Song (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music	Desert Music / Tehillim (reference) Desert Winds & Burning Sky Soothing Sounds (reference) Footprints in the Desert (reference) Painted Desert Serenade (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech	Desert Strike (reference) Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Mission Pack: Desert Siege (reference) (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Consumer Goods	Vitara Desert Night Blue Teakettle (reference) (more baby examples; more wireless phone examples; more garden examples; more kitchen examples; more tool examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Image Slideshow: Desert

Photo Album: Desert

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Free-Falling Body Nose Dives in Desert. Credit: NASA.		NASA Astronauts Desert Survival Training. Credit: NASA.
	The Dasht-e Kevir, or Great Salt Desert, is the largest desert in Iran. It is a primarily uninhabited wasteland, composed of mud and salt marshes covered with crusts of salt that protect the meager moisture from completely evaporating. Credit: NASA.		The western region of Australia's Great Sandy Desert is an area almost devoid of sand, but characterized by complex geology. Credit: NASA.
	Plane table party working near Mt. Desert, Maine Sketch by Chief of Party Cleveland Rockwell. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.		Small wooden stand on ridge in Mojave Desert Station built during observations on Transcontinental Traverse work Triangulation party of Woodrow Johnson. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.
	Sinai Desert shoreline on the Gulf of Aqaba. Credit: America's Coastlines.		A near desert appearing scene south of the Kohala Mountains on the Parker Ranch. Credit: America's Coastlines.
	Helen's Reef - a classic desert island - elevation above sea level about 8 feet. Credit: Small World.		F-117A over the New Mexico desert.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Sounds Captioned with "Desert".

Familiar Quotations: Desert

Historic Usage: Desert

Use in Literature: Desert

Non-Fiction Usage: Desert

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Usually, the deer mouse likes woodlands, but also turns up in desert areas. (references)
		Recent studies have confirmed that infected rodents are present in every habitat type--from desert to alpine tundra--but that the prevalence of infection is higher among certain species of Peromyscus and in certain middle-altitude habitats. (references)
Business		The terrain is mostly sand desert, barren mountains, and salt flats. (references)
		Guests at Al Maha will enjoy their stay in a perfect sanctuary in the middle of vast nature reserve right in the heart of the desert. (references)
		Desert Air Tour offers an aerial view of the city of Dubai for an approximate cost of USD 68-95 for an approximately flying time of 45 minutes to an hour. This service is offered daily. (references)
Civil Liberties	Iran	However, the land was in the desert, with no access to water, making it impossible to perform Baha'i mourning rituals. (references)
Economic History	Djibouti	Terrain: Coastal desert. (references)
	Mali	Terrain: Savannah and desert. (references)
Human Rights	Angola	Recruits were taken to isolated military camps and subjected to psychological stress and extreme hardships; those who attempted to desert were executed. (references)
	Mexico	Since his arrest in 1995, numerous other young women have been kidnaped, raped, strangled, and had their bodies dumped in the same areas of the desert where previous victims were found. (references)
	Turkmenistan	Others who had the proper building permits were offered apartments or plots of land in compensation, but such compensation was often not at fair market value for example, desert plots with no amenities, or was inadequate for large families. (references)
Indigenous People	Botswana	The Basarwa (also known as San), who now inhabit chiefly the Kalihari Desert, are the earliest known inhabitants of the country and were the only inhabitants until Bantu groups arrived during the 16th century. (references)
Political Economy	Turkmenistan	It is largely a desert with cattle and sheep raising, intensive agriculture in irrigated areas, and huge oil and gas reserves. (references)
	OMAN	The Sultanate of Oman is a nation of 2.4 million people (including as many as 624,000 expatriates) living in the arid mountains and desert plains of the southeastern Arabian Peninsula. (references)
Travel	Kuwait	Stay on main roads and do not travel on unpaved roads; avoid open areas and the desert. (references)
	Mexico	This includes Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco and other beach resorts, as well as the desert Northeast and border zone. (references)
	Egypt	Alexandria and Cairo are connected by both the Western Desert Highway, a high-speed toll road and the busier Delta Road. (references)
Women	Yemen	Citizens of African origin or those living in communities with heavy African influence are more likely to practice FGM. For example, according to the survey, approximately 69 percent of women living in coastal areas were subjected to FGM, compared with 15 percent in mountainous regions, and 5 percent in the plateau and desert regions. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	ULTIMATUM, n. In diplomacy, a last demand before resorting to concessions. Having received an ultimatum from Austria, the Turkish Ministry met to consider it. "O servant of the Prophet," said the Sheik of the Imperial Chibouk to the Mamoosh of the Invincible Army, "how many unconquerable soldiers have we in arms?" "Upholder of the Faith," that dignitary replied after examining his memoranda, "they are in numbers as the leaves of the forest!" "And how many impenetrable battleships strike terror to the hearts of all Christian swine?" he asked the Imaum of the Ever Victorious Navy. "Uncle of the Full Moon," was the reply, "deign to know that they are as the waves of the ocean, the sands of the desert and the stars of Heaven!" For eight hours the broad brow of the Sheik of the Imperial Chibouk was corrugated with evidences of deep thought: he was calculating the chances of war. Then, "Sons of angels," he said, "the die is cast! I shall suggest to the Ulema of the Imperial Ear that he advise inaction. In the name of Allah, the council is adjourned."
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Spoken Usage: Desert

Speeches: Desert

Usage Frequency: Desert

Derived & Related Names: Desert

Usage in Company Names: Desert

Expressions: Desert

Expressions using "desert": arabian Desert ♦ atacama Desert ♦ australian Desert ♦ Colorado Desert ♦ desert area ♦ desert boot ♦ Desert Climate ♦ desert dish ♦ Desert flora ♦ desert four o'clock ♦ desert Fox ♦ Desert hare ♦ Desert Hills ♦ desert holly ♦ Desert Hot Sprin ♦ Desert Hot Springs ♦ desert iguana ♦ desert island ♦ desert life ♦ desert lynx ♦ desert mariposa tulip ♦ Desert mouse ♦ desert olive ♦ desert paintbrush ♦ desert pea ♦ desert plant ♦ desert plume ♦ desert rat ♦ desert rheumatism ♦ desert rose ♦ desert sand verbena ♦ desert selaginella ♦ desert soil ♦ desert spoon ♦ desert sunflower ♦ desert the colors ♦ desert the colours ♦ desert to the enemy ♦ desert tortoise ♦ desert varnish ♦ Desert View Highlands ♦ desert warfare ♦ desert willow ♦ gila Desert ♦ gobi desert ♦ Kalahari Desert ♦ libyan Desert ♦ Mohave Desert ♦ mojave desert ♦ Mount Desert ♦ Namib Desert ♦ near desert ♦ Negev Desert ♦ nubian Desert ♦ operation Desert Storm ♦ painted Desert ♦ Palm Desert ♦ Palm Desert Country ♦ patagonian Desert ♦ pride of the desert ♦ rock desert ♦ sahara desert ♦ salt desert ♦ sand desert ♦ sandy desert ♦ Sinai Desert ♦ stone desert ♦ Sturt's desert pea ♦ the ship of the desert. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "desert": desert-adapted, desert-camouflage, desert-covered, desert-dwellers, desert-dwelling, desert-flower, desert-hardened, desert-like, desert-living, Desert-rat, desert-stained.
	Ending with "desert": near-desert, semi-desert.
	Containing "desert": walking-off-into-the-desert-at-the-end-movie.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Desert

Modern Translation: Desert

Language		Translations for "desert"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaans		verlaat (abandon, forsake, leave, quit), afval (apostasy, apostatize, clippings, cuttings, debris, defection, drop, drop out, fall, fall away, lose, lose flesh, lose in weight, parings, refuse, remainder, rest, rubbish, rubble, secede, waste, windfall). (various references)

Albanian		dezertoj, vend shterpë, shterp (barren, dry, effete, sterile), shpërblim (bonus, compensation, consideration, deserts, guerdon, honor, honorarium, honour, kudos, meed, pay, payment, premium, recompense, recoupment, remuneration, render, reparations, repayment, requital, return, reward), shkretëtirë (wild), punë e mërzitshme, meritë (merit, virtue), më lë, më iku, i shkretë (blessed, deserted, desolate, devoid of inhabitants, inhospitable, lifeless, lonely, lonesome, poor, waste, wild), i pabanuar (desolate, uninhabited, untenantable), braktis (cast away, cast off, chuck, drop out, fall away, forsake, jilt, lay down, let go, relinquish, renounce, tek pupa, throw over). (various references)

Arabic		‏فر من الجندية, ‏مجدب (arid, barren, dry, infertile, sterile, sterilized, unfruitful, waste), ‏مثوبة, ‏هجر (break away, cast aside, dereliction, desertion, disuse, drop out, emigratory, expel, expose, flee, forsake, immigrate, jettison, leave, neglect, quit, relinquish, renounce, scrap, skive, strand, surrender, throw, waive, weigh anchor), ‏قفر (tumble, waste, wasteland, wild, wild land, wilderness), ‏قاحل (arid, barren, dry, infertile, waste), ‏صحراوي, ‏صحراء (sand, wilderness), ‏جدارة (aptitude, competence, efficiency, eligibility, fitness, merit, qualification, suitability, worth, worthiness), ‏أهمل (be negligent, default, discount, disregard, forsake, go by the board, lapse, lay aside, lay by, leave out, neglect, omit, overlook, pass, pass over smth., scorn, set apart, skive, slight, throwaway), ‏أهلية (aptitude, aptly, competence, domestication, legitimacy, neatness, qualification, qualifications), ‏بيداء. (various references)

Asturian		ermu. (various references)

Aymara		huasara. (various references)

Basque		basamortu. (various references)

Bemba		ciswebebe. (various references)

Blackfoot		ómahksspatsiko. (various references)

Bulgarian		скучна тема, оставям (abandon, confide, drop off, leave, leave behind, let, put, put down, quit, repudiate, resign, vacate), напускам (abandon, fall away, lay down, leave, leave off, part from, quit, relinquish, vacate, void), напуснат (abandoned, deserted), заслуга (merit, merits, service), пустиня (wild, wilderness), пустинен (waste), пуст (bleak, deserted, desolate, drear, empty, harsh, inane, infernal, inhospitable, uncouth, uninhabited, vacant, vain, waste, wild, yeasty), дезертирам (scuttle). (various references)

Catalan		desert. (various references)

Cebuano		desyerto. (various references)

Chamorro		disietto. (various references)

Chinese		沙漠 . (various references)

Cornish		dysert. (various references)

Czech		dezertovat (defect), zradit (betray, fink, flimflam, rat, sell), zbìhnout, zásluha (credit, worth, worthiness), pustý (bleak, desolate, dreary, godforsaken, hollow, stark, void, waste, wild), opustit (abandon, drop, forsake, leave, plant, quit, relinquish, throw up, to leave). (various references)

Danish		udørken. (various references)

Dutch		woestijn, wildernis (wilderness). (various references)

Ecuadorian Quechua		manapi causana panpa. (various references)

Esperanto		dezerto, malfideliĝi (apostatize, secede), forlasi (abandon, forsake, leave, quit). (various references)

Faeroese		oyðimørk. (various references)

Farsi		گریختن (Abscond, Escape, Runaway, Shun, Skedaddle, Slip), ترک کردن (Defect, Disuse, Evacuate, Leave, Pullout, Relinquish), سزاواری (Liability, Merit), صحرا (Wilderness), استحقاق (Merit, Title), شایستگی (Ability, Adequacy, Aptitude, Aptness, Competence, Decency, Eligibility, Merit, Pertinence, Sufficiency), دشت (Flat, Moor, Plain, Weald). (various references)

Finnish		aavikko (prairie, vast plain, waste). (various references)

French		désert, quitter (depart), délaisser, abandonner. (various references)

Frisian		woastine. (various references)

German		Wüste (dreary, gaunt, waste, wasteland, wilderness), wüst (awful, chaotic, desolate, desolately, rough, rude, terrible, vile, waste, wild), verlassen (abandon, abandoned, abandonment, derelict, derelicted, deserted, desertion, desolate, evacuate, exit, forlorn, forsake, leave, lonely, loose, move away, quit, quitted, quitting, solitary, to derelict, to desert, to evacuate, to forlorn, to leave, untrodden), einöde (solitude, waste, wasteland). (various references)

Greek		έρημος (wilderness). (various references)

Hebrew		מדברי, ישימון (desolation, wasteland, wilderness), לעזוב (abandon, forsake, leave, let go, loosen, release, set free), לערוק (bolt, escape, flee, rat, renegade, tergiversate), לזנוח (abandon, forsake, lay aside, reject), לנטוש (abandon, brandish, cast aside, forsake, lay aside, leave, let, quit, relinquish, renounce), ערבה (dry land, plain, prairie, steppe, wilderness), חרבה (waste, wilderness). (various references)

Hungarian		sivatag (waste), pusztaság (barren, desolation, Heath, Heather, waste, wild, wilderness), lakatlan (bleak, deserted, uninhabited, unoccupied, unpeopled, untenanted), elhagy (abandon, forsake, forsaken, forsook, jilt, leave, leave behind, let down, omit, quit, sank, sunk, throw over, to abandon, to desert, to drop out, to fall off, to forsake, to jilt, to leave behind, to mislay, to sink, to throw over). (various references)

Icelandic		yfirgefa (abandon, forsake, leave, quit). (various references)

Indonesian		sunyi, pahala, membolos (escape, play-truant), membelot (see: berbelot), jasa (kindness, service), gurun (wasteland). (various references)

Inuktitut		nuna immaqrangituq. (various references)

Irish		fásach. (various references)

Italian		deserto (deserted, empty, waste, wasteland, wilderness), abbandonare (abandon, abdicate, bolt, discard, dismiss, dump, fail, forsake, give up, leave, leave behind, let oneself go, quit, register, relinquish, renounce, resign, Slough, surrender). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		荒野 (deserted land, wasteland, wilderness, wilds). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		すなはら (sandy plain), デザート (dessert), さばく (adherence to the shogunate, to handle, to judge, to sell), こうや (8 p.m., a plain, deserted land, dyer, prairie, suburban fields, vast plain, wasteland, wilderness, wilds), あれの (deserted land, prairie, vast plain, wasteland, wild land, wilderness, wilds), あらの (deserted land, prairie, vast plain, wasteland, wilderness, wilds). (various references)

Kongo		nzanza. (various references)

Korean		사막 (deserts). (various references)

Macedonian		pustina. (various references)

Manx		treigeil (abandon, betray, defect, departure, deviation, evacuate, evacuation, fall away, forsake; repudiation, jilt, lay aside, maroon, rat on, repudiate, strand, throw over), neuhaaghey (forsake), feaynid</

Play	Caption
	Hawk; caw; cawing; desolation; desert; deserted; desolate.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Arabian Proverb	Too much sun makes a desert.
Baltasar Gracian	True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island...to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.
Bayard Taylor	From the desert I come to thee, On a stallion shod with fire; And the winds are left behind In the speed of my desire.
Caius Cornelius Tacitus	Where they make a desert, they call it peace.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	Ah! what would the world be to us If the children were no more? We should dread the desert behind us Worse than the dark before.
Miguel De Cervantes	The phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune's spite; revive from ashes and rise.
Pliny The Elder	When a building is about to fall down, all the mice desert it.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Author	Date	Quotation
Communist Manifesto	1848	If by chance they are revolutionary, they are so only in view of their impending transfer into the proletariat, they thus defend not their present, but their future interests, they desert their own standpoint to place themselves at that of the proletariat. (reference)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.	1963	I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1902)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
The Little Prince	Antoine de Saint-Exupery	What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well
Scarlet Letter	Hawthorne, Nathaniel	Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas	Hunter S. Thompson	We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold
Grapes of Wrath	Steinbeck, John	And 66 goes on over the terrible desert, where the distance shimmers and the black center mountains hang unbearably in the distance
Walden	Thoreau, Henry David	The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervis in the desert.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Speaker	Phrase(s)
Cary Goldstein	The only thing I do know is that we have been telling the police, Marge in particular told the police, about a botched attempt that Bonny had told us about, when Caldwell, Blake and Bonny were out in the desert camping.
Dan Rather	Well, in the same way that the U.S. military has names for operations such as Operation Desert Storm, Anaconda, the Israeli military has their version of that. And they do call this, you know, Operation Protective Wall.
Jack Hanna	Oh, yeah. Patagonian cavy. Yeah. But they're an animal not many people see. They kind of hang around swamps and things like that to be near the water and also near vegetation. But they also live in the desert.
Kelly Marino	I did not desert my children. That is one thing that has been reported very wrong. And I just chose not to speak out and say anything different.
Martha Stewart	We're not deserting. We don't have plans to desert K-mart. But we are in talks with the new chairman, a very nice man called Jim Adamson. And we are very close to the company and we are working with them to help them, actually.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.


"Desert cementary" by Peter Løvschall Commentary: "Grave, on the road to Pisagua. Atacama Desert, Northern Chile."	"Big Bend Desert Mountains" by Jeff Noble Commentary: "A nice picture of part of the desert in Big Bend National Park, Texas."
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
James Monroe	1817-1825	The hunter state can exist only in the vast uncultivated desert.
Lyndon B. Johnson	1963-1969	We were never meant to be an oasis of liberty and abundance in a worldwide desert of disappointed dreams.
George Bush	1989-1993	American forces had just unleashed Operation Desert Storm.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	77.4%	1,515	5,386
Noun (proper)	14.69%	288	17,155
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	6.73%	132	27,743
Lexical Verb (base form)	1.17%	23	72,767
Total	100.00%	1,958	N/A

The following table summarizes names derived from the word "desert".
Name	Gender	Language	Meaning
Arabia	N/A	Biblical	Desert
Horeb	N/A	Biblical	Desert
Shepho	N/A	Biblical	Desert
Zippor	N/A	Biblical	Desert
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Country	Name
USA	Desert Community Bank
	(more examples...)

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
desert	4,047	mojave desert	233
desert eagle	1,702	desert plant	232
california desert	1,291	cheat conflict desert storm	230
palm desert california	1,118	college of the desert	229
combat desert	1,023	desert picture	218
desert storm	975	marriott desert springs	211
palm desert	681	desert rat	204
sahara desert	606	desert mountain	186
namib desert	518	operation desert storm	179
desert school federal credit union	516	desert operation scorpion	169
desert sun	483	desert survival	165
desert rose	416	desert photo	162
desert tree	391	desert hot spring california	149
conflict desert storm	382	desert tortoise	136
desert school	364	combat desert map	135
painted desert	348	50 desert eagle	131
desert vacation	301	arizona desert	131
desert recipe	279	gobi desert	129
desert school credit union	271	1942 battlefield combat desert	127
desert animal	263	palm desert hotel	120
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Desert

Definition: Desert

Desert

Adjective

Noun

Verb

Specialty Definition: Desert

Specialty Definition: Desert

Americas

Africa

Asia-Pacific

Synonyms: Desert

Synonyms within Context: Desert

Absence

Avoidance

Peace

Plain

Relinquishment

Resignation

Unproductiveness

Virtue

Waste

Crosswords: Desert

Modern Usage: Desert

Screenplays

Lyrics

Clever

Movie/TV Titles

Song Titles

Commercial Usage: Desert

References

Books

Periodicals

Theater & Movies

Music

High Tech

Consumer Goods

Image Slideshow: Desert

Photos:Desert

Illustrations:Desert

Computer Images:Desert

Photo Album: Desert

Digital Photo Gallery: Desert

Sounds Captioned with "Desert".

Familiar Quotations: Desert

Arabian Proverb

Baltasar Gracian

Bayard Taylor

Caius Cornelius Tacitus

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Miguel De Cervantes

Pliny The Elder

Historic Usage: Desert

Communist Manifesto

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Use in Literature: Desert

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Hunter S. Thompson

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

Non-Fiction Usage: Desert

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

Spoken Usage: Desert

Cary Goldstein

Dan Rather

Jack Hanna

Kelly Marino

Martha Stewart

Speeches: Desert

James Monroe

Lyndon B. Johnson

George Bush

Usage Frequency: Desert

Photos:
Desert

Illustrations:
Desert

Computer Images:
Desert