Etymograph

English

desertrice

Desertrice comes from Latin dēsertrīx ‘a female deserter’, from dēserō ‘to abandon’, and ultimately from serō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEserō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēserō1‘to abandon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdesertor2‘deserter’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsertrīx2‘a female deserter’feminine form of desertor
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentdésertrice2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1645desertrice2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin desertor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English desertrice
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1645, John Milton: “Cleave to a wife; but let her be a…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEserōWiktionary, Latin desertor
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēserōWiktionary, Latin desertor‘to abandon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdesertorWiktionary, English desertrice‘deserter’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsertrīxWiktionary, English desertrice‘a female deserter’feminine form of desertor
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentdésertriceWiktionary, English desertrice
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1645desertriceWiktionary, English desertrice. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1645, John Milton: “Cleave to a wife; but let her be a…”

Linked words

through Latin serō

season, series, serial, insert, exert, soiree, sere, cerrado, 9 more

Today it means

noun A female deserter.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “desertrice”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin desertor. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin serō / desertrice

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