maroon"put ashore on a desolate island or coast," 1724 (implied in marooning), from maron (n.) "fugitive black slave in the jungles of W.Indies and Dutch Guyana" (1620s), from Fr. marron, said to be a corruption of Sp. cimmaron "wild, untamed," from O.Sp. cimarra "thicket," probably from cima "summit, top"
(from L. cyma "sprout"), with a notion of living wild in the mountains. Related: Marooned.