sere

Main Entry: sere

Variant(s): also sear /'sir/

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sEar dry; akin to Old High German sOrEn to wither, Greek hauos dry, Lithuanian sausas

1 : being dried and withered

2 archaic : THREADBARE

"It is a hot place, flat and sere". Salmon Rushdie, The Firebird's Nest