Cimarrón
/ˌsɪm.əˈrɒn/noun
A wild or runaway animal or person, especially one who has escaped captivity; in Spanish, also a surname and place name.
Did you know?Spanish cimarrón originally described domesticated animals that had gone feral, and later escaped enslaved people, so the word’s history is tied to both wilderness and resistance.
Etymological Timeline
Latin (source debated)
Latin
cimarra / cima?
“Possibly connected in older scholarship to a notion of a peak or top, but the origin is uncertain and not securely established.”
16th Century
Spanish
cimarrón
“A domestic animal that has run wild; later, a runaway or fugitive person.”
16th-17th Century
Spanish
cimarrón
“Applied to escaped enslaved people and to anything wild, unruly, or untamed.”
17th Century
English
cimarron
“Borrowed from Spanish for a wild or feral animal, especially in colonial contexts.”
Modern English
English
cimarron
“A borrowed word used mostly in historical, zoological, or cultural references.”