maroon

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   An escaped black slave of the Caribbean and the Americas or a descendant of such a person.

   • 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.
   • Joining others who had escaped before them, they formed communities of Maroons in which many traditional African customs and social mores were preserved.
2. 2

   A castaway

   A castaway; a person who has been marooned (abandoned).

3. 3

   Associated with Maroon culture, communities or peoples.

   • 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” […]
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   1. 4

      To abandon in a remote, desolate place, as on a desert island.

      • 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.
      • 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 […]
   2. 5

      A rich dark red, somewhat brownish, color.

      • 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.
   3. 6

      Of a dark red or reddish-brown color.

   4. 7

      A rocket-propelled firework or skyrocket, often one used as a signal (for example, to…

      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).

      • 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.
   5. 8

      An idiot

      An idiot; a fool.

      • At least, I would not be sleeping that night. Why did I have that espresso? What a maroon!
   6. 9

      Alternative form of maroon (“descendant of escaped slaves”).

   7. 10

      A surname.

   8. 11

      A member of the Queensland State of Origin rugby league team, who wear maroon-coloured…

      A member of the Queensland State of Origin rugby league team, who wear maroon-coloured jerseys.

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