maroon

Definition

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

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

• "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."