dessert
nouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//dɪˈzɜːt//
- United States//dɪˈzɝt//
The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc.
noun
- 1
The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc.
I ordered hummus for a starter, a steak as the main course, and chocolate cake for dessert.
Can I see the dessert menu, please?
- 2
A sweet dish or confection served as the last course of a meal.
Trifle is a favourite dessert of the English, but rivalled by pavlova in Australia and New Zealand.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des- Middle French des- Proto-Indo-European *ser- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *serwos Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *serweyéti Proto-Italic *serwijeti Proto-Italic *serwijit Proto-Italic *serwiō Latin serviō Old French servir Middle French servir Middle French desservir Middle French dessertbor. English dessert Borrowed from Middle French dessert, from desservir (“disserve”), from dés- (“dis-”) and servir (“serve”), thus literally meaning “removal of what has been served”. Note: It was erroneously suggested (e.g. in "Glucose syrups: Technology and Applications" (Peter Hull, 2010)) that the word is derived from the name of Benjamin Delessert, the inventor of beet sugar. However, the term predates him by at least a century.
Forms
- plural
- desserts
dessert · The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc.
destination · The place set for the end of a journey or to which something…destined · Confined to a predetermined fate or destiny; certain.destiny · That to which any person or thing is destined; a…