Desktop Environment (abbr. DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs, which share a common graphical user interface (GUI).
Overview[]
A desktop environment bundles together a variety of components to provide common graphical user interface elements such as icons, toolbars, wallpapers, and desktop widgets. Additionally, most desktop environments include a set of integrated applications and utilities. Most importantly, desktop environments provide their own Window manager, which can however usually be replaced with another compatible one.
While the term desktop environment originally described a style of user interfaces following the desktop metaphor, it has also come to describe the programs that realize the metaphor itself. This usage has been popularized by projects such as the Common Desktop Environment, KDE Plasma, and GNOME.[1][2]