Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Black Seminoles" in English language version.
The name, as is well known, is applied by the Creeks to people who remove from populous towns and live by themselves, and it is commonly stated that the Seminole consisted of "runaways" and outlaws from the Creek Nation proper. A careful study of their history, however, shows this to be only a partial statement of the case.
The ethnonym is of Muskogee origin: simanoli (earlier simaloni, surviving in some dialects) means "wild, runaway," as applied to animals and plants. It was originally borrowed by Muskogee from the Spanish word cimarrón, which has the same meaning.
The Shorter Oxford Dictionary explains maroon 'fugitive negro slave' as from 'Fr. marron, said to be a corruption of Sp. cimarron, wild, untamed'. But Eng.maroon is attested earlier (1666) than Fr. marron 'fugitive slave' (1701, in Furetiere). If there is a connection between Eng. maroon, Fr. marron, and Sp. cimarron, Spain (or Spanish America) probably gave the word directly to England (or English America).
The Shorter Oxford Dictionary explains maroon 'fugitive negro slave' as from 'Fr. marron, said to be a corruption of Sp. cimarron, wild, untamed'. But Eng.maroon is attested earlier (1666) than Fr. marron 'fugitive slave' (1701, in Furetiere). If there is a connection between Eng. maroon, Fr. marron, and Sp. cimarron, Spain (or Spanish America) probably gave the word directly to England (or English America).