maroon

maroon · noun, adjective, verb¹

1. Spanish · derived fromcimarrón“fugitive, wild, feral”
2. French · borrowed frommarron“feral; fugitive”
3. English todaymaroon

From French marron (“feral; fugitive”, adjective), from Spanish cimarrón (“fugitive, wild, feral”); see that entry for more.

maroon · noun, adjective²

1. Medieval Greekμάραον (máraon)
2. Italianmarrone
3. Frenchmarron
4. English todaymaroon

From earlier marone, marron, borrowed from French marron (“chestnut; brown”). Compare Spanish marrón. Doublet of marron (“sweet chestnut”).

maroon · noun³

Unknown. Possibly related to the sense “castaway” (etymology 1), or owing to the fact that the color of a fired flare was commonly red (etymology 2).

maroon · noun⁴

From an intentional mispronunciation of the word moron used by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 17th c. An escaped black slave of the Caribbean and the Americas or a descendant of such a person.
• from 19th c. A castaway; a person who has been marooned (abandoned).