maroon Hear it!

maroon1 definition

ma·roon (mə ro̵̅o̅n)

noun, adjective

dark brownish red

Etymology: Fr marron, chestnut, chestnut color < It marrone

maroon2 definition

ma·roon (mə ro̵̅o̅n)

noun

  1. in the West Indies and Suriname,
    1. Historical a fugitive black slave
    2. a descendant of such slaves
  2. Rare a marooned person

Etymology: Fr marron < AmSp cimarrón, wild, unruly < OSp cimarra, thicket

transitive verb

  1. to put (a person) ashore in some desolate place, as a desert island, and abandon that person there, as pirates or mutineers sometimes did
  2. to leave abandoned, isolated, or helpless

intransitive verb

Obsolete in the South, to camp out or picnic for several days

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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