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desservir

to serve (a route)

verb deh-ser-VEER Rare

Origin: From 'des-' (un-) + 'servir' (to serve), Latin 'deservire'.

Also means

to clear (a table)

Usage Note

Desservir has two distinct senses: in transport, desservir une ville means a train or bus 'serves' (stops at) a town; at the table, desservir means to clear the dishes after a meal. A third figurative sense — cela te dessert (that works against you) — is also common. It conjugates like servir.

Examples

"Ce train dessert toutes les gares de la région."

Natural Translation

This train serves all the stations in the region.

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