the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa
"The Sahara is the world's largest desert, stretching across 3,500,000 square miles of northern Africa."
A desert in North Africa, the largest hot desert in the world.
"The Sahara is a vast desert in North Africa and holds the title of the largest hot desert in the world."
The word Sahara comes from the Arabic ṣaḥārā, which originally meant "deserts." It entered English to refer specifically to the vast desert in North Africa.