Question: Looking on [thesaurus.com](http://thesaurus.com/browse/desert) I can find only synonyms for "desert" with negative connotations. Are there any synonyms with positive connotations? Specifically, something that invokes the sense of clean desolation and unspoiled nature.

Answer: 
The [Etymology](http://www.myetymology.com/latin/deserta.html) tells the story: 

> 
> The Classical Latin word *deserta* (abandoned, deserted wife) is 
>  derived from the Latin word *desertus* (deserted, uninhabited, without people), which is
>  derived from the Latin verb *deserere* (to cease to be concerned with; to fail, fall short; to leave, depart, quit), which is derived from negative or past *de-* plus the verb *serere* (to plant, sow). 
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Hence, a desert is unused or unusable land. *Arabia Deserta* is the classical Latin name for guess which country? And guess what it means?

There really aren't many positive connotations available for the word *desert*; perhaps that's one reason why we often spell it *dessert* and vice versa. There's rarely any confusion about which word is meant.
[***Thebaid***](http://www.wordreference.com/fren/th%C3%A9ba%C3%AFde)

> 
> The [*Thebaid*](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=thebaid%2CThebaid&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cthebaid%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThebaid%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2Cthebaid%3B%2Cc1%3B.t1%3B%2CThebaid%3B%2Cc0) or *Thebais* (Greek: Θηβαΐς, Thēbaïs) is the region of ancient Egypt containing the thirteen southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. It acquired its name from its proximity to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes. During the Ancient Egyptian dynasties this region was dominated by Thebes and its priesthood at the temple of Amun at Karnak. [...]
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> Around the 5th century, since it was a desert, the Thebaid became a place of retreat of a number of Christian hermits, and was the birthplace of Pachomius. In Christian art, the Thebaid was represented as a place with numerous monks.
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> [Social Vocabulary](http://socialvocabulary.com/defines/Thebaid)
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> *The subjects range from the pleasures of courtly life to the spiritual rewards of religious retirement from the world in a Thebaid, to the degradations and miseries of the poor* [...]
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> [The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture](https://books.google.fr/books?id=Te2dAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA622&lpg=PA622&dq=%22in+a+thebaid%22&source=bl&ots=dM5YLar5BL&sig=pOyqoB522XFD9tb6-ykCDpq5UHs&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3zIfrspvMAhUDfRoKHULfCP8Q6AEIIDAC#v=onepage&q=%22in%20a%20thebaid%22&f=false)
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