dessert
/dɪˈzəːt
/- The chocolate syrup with peppermint mousse is the perfect dessert for a summer day.
- You could, of course make your own sponge cake for this simple ice cream dessert.
- It is best served with fruit and fruit-based desserts rather than with heavier dessert offerings.
Synonyms
Usage
See deserts (usage)
Origin
Mid 16th century: from French, past participle of desservir 'clear the table', from des- (expressing removal) + servir 'to serve'.
desert from Middle English:
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’ both ultimately go back to Latin deserere ‘to leave, forsake’. The third desert 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 (Middle English). The dessert (mid 16th century) with a double ‘s’ meaning ‘a sweet course served at the end of a meal’, is from French desservir ‘to clear the table’.