marooning

thumb|Marooned by Howard Pyle Marooning is the intentional act of abandoning someone in an uninhabited area, such as a desert island. The word is attested in 1699, and is derived from the term maroon, a word for a fugitive slave, which could be a corruption of Spanish cimarrón (rendered as "symeron" in 16th–17th century English), meaning a household animal (or slave) who has "run wild". Cimarrón in turn may be derived from the Taino word símaran (“wild”) (like a stray arrow), from símara (“arrow”).

The practice was a penalty for crewmen, or for captains at the hands of a crew in cases of mutiny. Generally, a marooned man was set on a deserted island, often no more than a sand bar at low tide. He would be given some food, a container of water, and a loaded pistol so he could die by suicide if he desired. The outcome of marooning was usually fatal, but survival was possible if the condemned could obtain a means of escape, as in the case of pirate Edward England.