maroon
v.to leave someone alone in a place they cannot escape from, like a desert island. It is often used in stories about sailors or explorers.
v.to leave someone trapped in an isolated place, such as an island, with little hope of escape. Often carries a nautical or historical connotation.
“The pirates decided to maroon their captain on a tiny island.”
“After the ship sank, the survivors were marooned on a remote coast for three weeks before help arrived.”
“The novel explores the psychological breakdown of a sailor marooned by his mutinous crew, forced to survive on a barren rock with nothing but his wits.”
The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, usually a person.
“Some survivors are marooned on top of buildings that rescue workers can’t reach.”
“You’re lucky I wasn’t on the service that day.” Nathanial, 10, wore a dark suit and maroon tie and sat on a gold couch aside his father and Trump.”
From French marron (“feral; fugitive”, adjective), from Spanish cimarrón (“fugitive, wild, feral”); see that entry for more.
Etymology tree Byzantine Greek μάραον (máraon)bor. Italian marronebor. French marronbor. English maroon From earlier marone, marron, borrowed from French marron (“chestnut; brown”). Compare Spanish marrón. Doublet of marron (“sweet chestnut”).
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).
From an intentional mispronunciation of the word moron used by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.