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-sĕro , rŭi, rtum, 3, v. a. Lit.,
I.to undo or sever one's connection with another; hence, with esp. reference to the latter, to leave, forsake, abandon, desert, give up (cf. derelinquere; more restricted in signif. than relinquere, which denotes, in general, to depart from, to leave any one. Deserere, orig. in milit. lang., implies a cowardly running away; frequently used with prodere; also in the flg. phrase: deserere vitam; and later, absol. in the sense of to desert, etc.; cf. also: linquere, destituere, deficere, discedere—freq. and class.).
I. Lit.
A. In gen.: “ut jurent omnes, se exercitum ducesque non deserturos neque prodituros,Caes. B. C. 1, 76, 2; cf. id. ib. 2, 32, 7: “deseritur a suis Varus,id. ib. 1, 13, 3; cf. id. ib. 1, 15, 3; id. B. G. 5, 3, 6 al.: “pignus,Plaut. Capt. 2, 3, 75 et saep.: “te amantem non deseram,id. Ps. 1, 1, 101; cf. id. Mil. 4, 8, 53 et saep.: “cum amici partim deseruerint me, partim etiam prodiderint,Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 3, 5: “me deseruisti ac dereliquisti,id. Planc. 5, 13; cf. Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 51, and v. the foll.: “Avaricum,Caes. B. G. 7, 30, 2; cf.: “cunctis oppidis castellisque desertis,id. ib. 2, 29: “fratrem ne desere frater,Verg. A. 10, 600: “thalamos ne desere pactos,id. ib. 10, 649: “bellum,Just. 5, 2, 10: “victoriam,id. 14, 3, 6: “milites insepultos,Curt. 5, 13, 3: “metu locum,Tac. A. 1, 65 et saep.—
B. Absol., in milit. lang., to desert, Nep. Eum. 5, 1; Sen. de Ira, 2, 10, 1; Tac. A. 13, 35; Quint. 9, 2, 85; Amm. Marc. 31, 7, 4; Dig. 49, 16, 3, § 7 sq. al.—
2. Esp., leg. t. t.: “vadimonia deserere,to forfeit recognizance, fail to appear, Cic. Cat. 2, 3, 5; id. Quint. 23, 75 et saep.—So absol.: “deserui, tempestatibus impeditus,Quint. 3, 6, 78.—
B. Of subjects not personal, to fail, forsake, etc.: “genua hunc cursorem deserunt,Plaut. Merc. 1, 2, 13; cf.: “aliquem corpus, vires,Tac. A. 6, 50: “donec te deseret aetas,Hor. Ep. 1, 20, 10: “me lucerna,Cic. Att. 7, 7 fin.: “fama Curium Fabricium,id. Tusc. 1, 46, § 110; cf.: “nec facundia deseret hunc nec lucidus ordo,Hor. A. P. 41 et saep.— Poet.: “mensa deserit toros,is removed from, Ov. H. 12, 52.—Pass.: “deseremur potius a re familiari, quam a republica,Cic. Att. 16, 3; cf. Caes. B. G. 5, 34, 2; Cic. Att. 3, 15: “a tribunitia voce,id. Clu. 40, 110; Vell. 2, 80; Just. 2, 4, 29 al.; and poet. with simple abl.: “deseror conjuge,Ov. H. 12, 161; Prop. 2, 7, 17: “desertus viribus leo,Phaedr. 1, 21, 3; Stat. Th. 4, 707; cf. “suis,Tac. A. 3, 20 fin.; Suet. Cal. 12.— With gen.: “deserta natorum,Stat. Th. 5, 608.—Hence, dēsertus , a, um, P. a., deserted; esp. of places, desert, solitary, waste.
A. Adj. (cf.: “vastus, inanis, solitarius): in locis desertis,Caes. B. G. 5, 53, 4: “urbes dirutae ac pene desertae,Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 8: “deserta via et inculta,id. Cael. 18: “frequens an desertus locus,Quint. 5, 10, 37: “terra,Vulg. Lev. 26, 33 et saep.—Of objects in solitary places: “stipes,Tib. 1, 1, 12 (21 M.): “arbores,Prop. 1, 20, 36.—Subst.: -serta , ae, f., the abandoned wife: “multi filii desertae,Vulg. Gal. 4, 27.—Comp.: “reditus desertior,Cic. Pis. 23, 55: “nihil turpius ac desertius,id. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 5.—Sup.: “orae desertissimae,id. Sest. 22, 50: “solitudo,Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 67 al.
B. Since the Aug. per. subst.: dēserta , ōrum, n., desert places, deserts, wastes, Verg. E. 6, 81; id. G. 3, 342; Plin. 5, 4, 4, § 26 al.—With gen.: “Libyae deserta,Verg. A. 1, 384; so id. G. 3, 291; Front. Strat. 1, 7, 7; Vulg. Isa. 52, 9 al.—In sing.: dēsertum , i, n. (eccl. Lat.): “in deserto,Prud. Apoth. 774; Hier. Ep. 125, 2; Vulg. Num. 1, 1; Luc. 3, 2 et saep.
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  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (59):
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 16.3
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 3.15
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 3.19.2
    • Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 7.7
    • Cicero, Letters to his brother Quintus, 1.1.8
    • Cicero, Letters to his brother Quintus, 1.3.5
    • Cicero, Letters to his brother Quintus, 3.1.5
    • Old Testament, Isaiah, 52.9
    • Old Testament, Leviticus, 26.33
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 5.34.2
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 5.3.6
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 5.53.4
    • Caesar, Gallic War, 7.30.2
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    • Cicero, Against Catiline, 2.3.5
    • Cicero, For Aulus Cluentius, 40.110
    • Cicero, For Aulus Caecina, 35
    • Cicero, For Sestius, 22
    • Cicero, For Plancius, 5.13
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.3.120
    • Cicero, Against Verres, 2.5.171
    • Cicero, For Sulla, 20.58
    • Cicero, Against Piso, 23.55
    • Cicero, For Sestius, 22.50
    • Plautus, Miles Gloriosus, 4.8
    • Plautus, Pseudolus, 1.1
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 10.600
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 1.384
    • Vergil, Georgics, 3.291
    • Vergil, Georgics, 3.342
    • New Testament, Galatians, 4.27
    • Old Testament, Numbers, 1.1
    • Horace, Ars Poetica, 287
    • Horace, Ars Poetica, 41
    • Caesar, Civil War, 1.75.2
    • Caesar, Civil War, 1.76.2
    • Caesar, Civil War, 3.18
    • Tacitus, Annales, 13.35
    • Tacitus, Annales, 1.65
    • Tacitus, Annales, 3.20
    • Tacitus, Annales, 6.50
    • Plautus, Captivi, 2.3
    • Plautus, Mercator, 1.2
    • Lucan, Civil War, 3.2
    • Cornelius Nepos, Eumenes, 5.1
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 5.26
    • Livy, The History of Rome, Book 2, 54
    • Cicero, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, 1.7
    • Cicero, de Natura Deorum, 1.5
    • Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, 1.46
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    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 3, 6.78
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 5, 10.37
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 9, 2.85
    • Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, Book 12, 2.8
    • Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum, 70
    • Statius, Thebias, 4
    • Statius, Thebias, 5
    • Curtius, Historiarum Alexandri Magni, 5.13.3
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