Wordwyrt

dessert

/dɪˈzɜːt/dih-ZURT
/dɪˈzɝt/dih-ZURT

Meaningclear the table

Common meaning: the sweet dish that ends a meal

‘apart, away’ + ‘serve as a slave’ → dessert

Journey through time

  • des — Latin dis- “apart, away” (path traced)
  • sert — Latin serviō; servus “serve as a slave; a slave” (path traced)

Parts join in Old French as dessert.

  1. Latindis- + seruire‘apart, away + serve as a slave; a slave’source
  2. Old Frenchdessertsource
  3. Frenchdesservir‘clear the table’source
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsclear the table → the sweet dish that ends a mealdessert‘the sweet dish that ends a meal’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old French dessert, which Skeat analyses as dis- ‘apart, away’ + seruire ‘serve as a slave; a slave’.

Roots

Related words

conservedeservepreservereserveservantserveserviceservile

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