Marooning
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marooning is the act of leaving someone behind intentionally in an uninhabited area, such as a uninhabited island.
The word is in use since 1724, and is derived from maroon, a fugitive slave. It could be a corruption of Spanish cimarron, meaning "wild". The practice was a penalty for crewmen, or for captains at the hands of a mutineering crew. A marooned man was set on a deserted island, often no more than a sand bar. He would be given some food, a container of water, and a loaded pistol with which to commit suicide if he desired.
Pirates may have used marooning as well, and certainly do so quite frequently in fiction. In this context, to be marooned is euphemistically to be "made governor of the island."
During the late 18th century in the American South, "marooning" took on a humorous additional meaning describing an extended camping-out picnic over a period of several days (Oxford English Dictionary).de:Aussetzung (Strafrecht)


