Maronist (maronist)

[L. Maro ( n- ), the family name of Virgil, + -ist.] A disciple of Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro); a Virgilian student or scholar. Like some imperious Maronist . Bp . Hall , Satires, I. vi. 7. ( Davies .) Maronite (mar'ō-nīt), n. [F. Maronite ; as Maron (see def.) + -ite2 .] One of a body of Syriac Christians dwelling chiefly in the mountains of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. They are named from St. Maron, a Syrian monk (about A. D. 400), or le probably from John Maron, patriarch of the sect in the seventh century. The Maronites were originally Monothelites, but they entered into a partial union with the Roman Catholic Church in 1182, which after an interruption was made closer in 1445 and again in 1596. They still retain their own patriarchate of Antioch (now seated at Kanobin), their Syriac liturgy (although Arabic is now their vernacular tongue), the marriage of priests, their traditional fast-days, and the use of both elements in lay communion. The Maronites as a tribe were formerly under the same local government as the Druses, with whom they have had some bloody conflicts. In 1861, after a severe out break, they were put under a separate governor. maroon1 (ma-rön'), a. and n. [Formerly ma rone; also, as F., marron; II. n. 1. A kind of sweet chestnut produced in southern Europe, and known elsewhere as the French or Italian chestnut, having a single kernel and attaining a large size from the fact that the other two seeds of the involucre or bur are abortive. It is largely used for food by the poor in the countries where it is produced. A. I will eate three or foure chestnuts; what will you do? P. They like me so, so if they be marones or great chestnuts, they would be the better. Benvenuto , Pa enger's Dialogues (1612). ( Nares .) 2. A generic name for any pure or crimson red of very low luminosity. The color of a chestnut is yellower.-3. In dyeing, a coal-tar coloring matter obtained by purifying the resinous matters formed in the manufacture of magenta.-4. In pyrotechnics, a small cubical box of pasteboard filled with gunpowder and wrapped round with two or three layers of strong twine, used to imitate the report of a cannon. Maroons are primed with a short piece of quick-match, inserted in. a hole punctured in one of the corners, and are usually exploded in batteries to produce the effect of cannonading, as in combinations of fireworks. Also marron. Purple maroon, a very dark magenta or crimson color. A color-disk composed of 90 parts of velvet-black, 5 of pure red, and 5 of artificial ultramarine gives a purple maroon. [Also rarely