Wiktionary

maroon

See also: Maroon

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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

Noun

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maroon (plural maroons)

  1. An escaped black person of the Caribbean and the Americas or a descendant of such a person. [from 17th c.]
    Synonym: (archaic, now offensive) Bush Negro
    • 1985, Wade Davis, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Simon & Schuster, page 193:
      Further north a Maroon community in the Bahoruco Mountains thrived for eighty-five years, until the French proposed a truce under the terms of which the Maroons would be permitted to form an independent clan.
    • 2007, Kevin Filan, The Haitian Vodou Handbook, Destiny Books, page 14:
      Joining others who had escaped before them, they formed communities of Maroons in which many traditional African customs and social mores were preserved.
  2. A castaway; a person who has been marooned. [from 19th c.]
    Synonyms: castaway, marooner
Alternative forms
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Translations
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Adjective

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maroon (not comparable)

  1. Associated with Maroon culture, communities or peoples.
    • 2002, Cynthia James, The Maroon Narrative: Caribbean Literature in English Across Boundaries, Ethnicities, and Centuries, Heinemann Educational Books:
      In her discussion of Michelle Cliff's Abeng, a novel that historicizes maroon culture and the Jamaican warrior heroine Nanny of the Maroons, Francoise Lionnet examines linguistic “metissage” […]
Translations
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Verb

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maroon (third-person singular simple present maroons, present participle marooning, simple past and past participle marooned)

  1. To abandon in a remote, desolate place, as on a desert island.
    • 1963 April, “Winter on the Waverley”, in Modern Railways, page 281, photo caption:
      Hard-hit by the Arctic winter, the Waverley route was completely closed from January 6-9, when an avalanche between Whitrope and Riccarton marooned Class A2 4-6-2 No. 60535 Hornet's Beauty.
    • 2010, Brogan Steele, From the Jaws of Death: Extreme True Adventures of Man vs. Nature‎[1], St. Martin's Griffin, →ISBN, page 231:
      After the harrowing stories of being marooned at sea and stranded in the frozen wastelands of Alaska and the Poles, one would think that survival on dry land would be easier […]
    • 2025 April 10, Adam Serwer, “The Confrontation Between Trump and the Supreme Court Has Arrived”, in The Atlantic:
      The Trump administration’s argument, that no court could order it to retrieve Abrego Garcia despite his being deported by mistake, has broader implications: It means that the administration could similarly maroon U.S. citizens abroad “by mistake” and abandon them.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Further reading

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Etymology 2

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    Etymology tree
    Byzantine Greek μάραον (máraon)bor.
    Italian marronebor.
    French marronbor.
    English maroon

    Borrowed from French marron (“chestnut; brown”). Compare Spanish marrón. Doublet of marron (“sweet chestnut”).

    Noun

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    maroon (countable and uncountable, plural maroons)

    1. A rich dark red, somewhat brownish, color.
      maroon:  
      • 2009, Ben Long, The Nikon D90 Companion: Practical Photography Advice You Can Take Anywhere‎[2], O'Reilly Media, Inc., →ISBN, page 176:
        Is it a really dark maroon or a lighter maroon or a maroon that leans toward the red side? Or the magenta side? To address this issue, scientists use something called a color space.
    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    Adjective

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    maroon (comparative more maroon, superlative most maroon)

    1. Of a maroon color
    Translations
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    See also

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    redsedit

    Etymology 3

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    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).

    Noun

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    maroon (plural maroons)

    1. (nautical) A rocket-propelled firework or skyrocket, often one used as a signal (for example, to summon the crew of a lifeboat or warn of an air raid).
      • 1887 November 5, “Metropolitan Reports”, in The Chemist and Druggist, page 564:
        On Sunday afternoon a serious firework explosion occurred in Lambeth, whereby three persons were seriously injured. Two lads […] purchased a firework called a “maroon”, which is a bomb consisting of a small ball of string covered with a red composition. It is loaded with gunpowder, and there is also a fuse attached.
      • 1891, Alexander Kielland, “At the Fair”, in William Archer, transl., Tales of Two Countries‎[3], New York: Harper, page 73:
        As the evening falls, colored lamps and Chinese lanterns are lighted around the venerable oak which stands in the middle of the fairground and boys climb about among its topmost branches with maroons and Bengal lights.
      • 1900, Alan C. Jenkins, Introducing Horses‎[4], London: Spring Books:
        Many a seaman’s life may have depended on equine speed and strength. Some of these ‘Lifeboat Horses’ used to recognise the maroon which was fired to summon the Lifeboat crew. Long after its retirement one of the horses which regularly helped to haul the Hoylake Lifeboat heard a maroon fired one day when it was working in the neighbouring fields. It immediately became very excited and made for the boathouse.
      • 1931 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Too True to Be Good: A Political Extravaganza”, in Too True to Be Good, Village Wooing & On the Rocks. Three Plays, London: Constable and Company, published 1934, →OCLC, Act II, page 58:
        tallboys […] And now I am off to inspect stores. There is a shortage of maroons that I don't understand. / the countess. What a pity! I love maroons. They have such nice ones at that confectioner's near the Place Vendôme. / tallboys. Oh, youre thinking of marrons glacés. No: maroons are fireworks: things that go off with a bang. For signalling.
      • 1933 September, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Last War Cyclone, 1940–50”, in The Shape of Things to Come, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, 2nd book (The Days after Tomorrow: The Age of Frustration), page 203:
        The big air raids […] were much more dreadful than the air raids of the World War. They began with a nightmare of warning maroons, sirens, hooters and the shrill whistles of cyclist scouts, then swarms of frantic people running to and fro, […]

    Etymology 4

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

    Noun

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    maroon (plural maroons)

    1. (slang, derogatory) An idiot; a fool.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fool, Thesaurus:idiot
      • 2011, S. Watts Taylor, Tarnish, iUniverse, published 2011, →ISBN, page 21:
        At least, I would not be sleeping that night. Why did I have that espresso? What a maroon!

    Anagrams

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