A.Word.A.Day --dissert

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dissert

PRONUNCIATION:

(di-SUHRT)

MEANING:

verb intr.: To speak or write at length on a subject.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin disserere (to arrange in order), from dis- (apart, away) + serere (to join). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ser- (to line up), that is also the source of words such as series, assert, desert (to abandon), desert (a dry sandy region), sort, consort, and sorcerer.

NOTES:

Here are various words with similar looks and sounds, some related, some not:
dessert (di-ZUHRT), as in "fat-free dessert", from French desservir (to clear the table)
desert (DEZ-uhrt), as in "the Sahara", from Latin deserere (to abandon)
desert (di-ZUHRT), as in "to desert the army", from Latin deserere (to abandon)
desert (di-ZUHRT), as in "to receive just deserts", from Latin deservire (to serve zealously)

USAGE:

"There is no small amount of allure in hearing Evan dissert brusquely on his rationale for keeping certain women in the game."
Scott Feschuk; Reality Chicks; National Post (Canada); Jan 15, 2003.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Like a lawyer, the human brain wants victory, not truth; and, like a lawyer, it is sometimes more admirable for skill than virtue. -Robert Wright, author and journalist (b. 1957)

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