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dessert

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des·sert

   [dih-zurt]
noun
1.
cake, pie, fruit, pudding, ice cream, etc., served as the final course of a meal.
2.
British. a serving of fresh fruit after the main course of a meal.
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Origin:
1780–90; < French, derivative of desservir to clear the table. See dis-1, serve

Can be confused: 1. desert, dessert; 2. deserts, desserts.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To dessert

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Dessert is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
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Example Sentences
  • And for dessert, honeyed butter cookies were topped by crystallized rose petals.
  • Like a fine dessert, this light novel leaves a pleasant aftertaste.
  • I've always loved the creamy Italian dessert tiramisu.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
dessert (dɪˈzɜːt)
 
—n
1.  the sweet, usually last course of a meal
2.  chiefly (Brit) (esp formerly) fruit, dates, nuts, etc, served at the end of a meal
 
[C17: from French, from desservir to clear a table, from des-dis-1 + servir to serve]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dessert
1600, from M.Fr. dessert (1539) "last course," lit. "removal of what has been served," from desservir "clear the table," lit. "un-serve," from des- "remove, undo" + O.Fr. servir "to serve."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

dessert

the last course of a meal. In the United States dessert is likely to consist of pastry, cake, ice cream, pudding, or fresh or cooked fruit. British meals traditionally end with nuts, fruits, and port or other dessert wine, while French practice is to end with fruit, cheese, and wine; in both cuisines, a more elaborate meal would include a sweet course preceding the dessert offerings. In Spain, Portugal, and Latin-American countries, desserts of flan (a baked caramel custard) are ubiquitous. Other rich sweets based on eggs, milk, and fruits also are preferred. The elaborate cakes and tarts of central and northern Europe make the dessert course a glory of these cuisines. Indian cuisine offers sweet puddings and dense cakes flavoured with rosewater, honey, and nuts

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Images for dessert
Matching Quote
"We had got a loaf of home-made bread, and musk and water melons for dessert. For this farmer, a clever and well-disposed man, cultivated a large patch of melons for the Hooksett and Concord markets. He hospitably entertained us the next day, exhibiting his hop-fields and kiln and melon-patch, warning us to step over the tight rope which surrounded the latter at a foot from the ground, while he pointed to a little bower at one corner, where it connected with the lock of a gun ranging with the line, and where, he informed us, he sometimes sat in pleasant nights to defend his premises against thieves. We stepped high over the line, and sympathized with our host's on the whole quite human, if not humane, interest in the success of his experiment. That night especially thieves were to be expected, from rumors in the atmosphere, and the priming was not wet. He was a Methodist man, who had his dwelling between the river and Uncannunuc Mountain; who there belonged, and stayed at home there, and by the encouragement of distant political organizations, and by his own tenacity, held a property in his melons, and continued to plant. We suggested melon seeds of new varieties and fruit of foreign flavor to be added to his stock. We had come away up here among the hills to learn the impartial and unbribable influence of Nature. Strawberries and melons grew as well in one man's garden as another's, and the sun lodges as kindly under his hillside,—when we had imagined that she inclined rather to some few earnest and faithful souls whom we know."
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