Lewis & Short

2. dē-sĕro, rŭi, rtum, 3, v. a. Lit., 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.).

  1. I. Lit.
    1. 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. id. 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.
    2. 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. II. Trop., to leave, desert, abandon: Petreius non deserit sese, armat familiam, etc., Caes. B. C. 1, 75, 2: suum jus, Cic. Caecin. 35 fin.; cf.: desertarum derelictarumque rerum patrocinium suscipere, id. N. D. 1, 5, 11: preces, promissa, spem, obsecrationem et fideles litteras alicujus, id. Att. 3, 19, 2: causam, id. Sull. 20, 58; cf.: desertam ac proditam causam queri, Liv. 2, 54: ullam officii partem, Cic. Fin. 1, 7, 24; cf. officium (with praetermittere defensionem), id. Off. 1, 9: susceptum officium, Caes. B. C. 3, 18: vitam, Cic. Sest. 22 fin.; cf. id. de Sen. 20, 72: deditionem, Sall. J. 70, 1: studia sapientiae, Quint. 12, 2, 8: viam virtutis, Hor. Od. 3, 24, 44: vestigia Graeca, id. A. P. 287: fastidiosam copiam, id. Od. 3, 29, 9.
      1. 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.
    1. 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.
    1. 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.: dē-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, id. Verr. 2, 5, 67 al.
    2. 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.