(Lat. desertum, participle of deserere, to desert, to leave), a large tract of barren country; a waste. Some deserts are sandy, as those of Lop, Xamo, Arabia, and several others in Asia; and in Africa those of Libya and Sahara; whilst others are stony, as the desert of Pharan in Arabia Petraea. It appears, however, that in all the sandy deserts of considerable extent there are large tracts of clayey soil, interspersed with hills of sandstone and limestone. (See Denham's Travels.)