'desertify' originates from the Latin word 'desertificare', where 'desertus' meant 'abandoned' and 'facere' meant 'to make'.

'desertificare' transformed into the French word 'désertifier', and eventually became the modern English word 'desertify'.

Initially, it meant 'to make deserted', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to transform into a desert'.