maquis

American  

[mah-kee, ma-, ma-kee] / mɑˈki, mæ-, maˈki /

Or Maquis

noun

plural

maquis

1. the French underground movement, or Resistance, that combatted the Nazis in World War II.

2. Also called maquisard.  a member of this movement.

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maquis British  

/ mɑːˈkiː /

noun

1. shrubby mostly evergreen vegetation found in coastal regions of the Mediterranean: includes myrtles, heaths, arbutus, cork oak, and ilex

2. (often capital)

   1. the French underground movement that fought against the German occupying forces in World War II

   2. a member of this movement

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Etymology

Origin of maquis

1940–45; < French, special use of maquis, makis wild, bushy land < Italian (Corsican dial.) macchie (with French -is for -ie ), plural of macchia a thicket < Latin macula spot

Example Sentences

In the maquis register the names of local men are jumbled up with those of Jews born in Paris, Alsace and Eastern Europe.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2021

Pierre's training also helped the Vabre maquis to carry out a dramatic attack on a German supply train heading for Castres on 19 August 1944.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2021

Wild donkeys watched us impassively from the roadside; the surrounding meadows were dyed red and yellow where poppies and daisies rioted among maquis trees and gauzy tufts of wild fennel.

From Washington Post • Aug. 13, 2015

Xieng Kho's garrison, dug in on a hillside above the village, consisted of 70 regulars of the royal Laotian army, 100 home guards and 25 counter-guerrillas who are called maquis by French-educated Laotians.

From Time Magazine Archive

There are hills and rocks, with emerald ferns, and wild flowers almost like Switzerland; and gorse, and fragrant shrubs which must be like the "maquis" they tell you of in Corsica.

From The Lightning Conductor Discovers America by Williamson, C. N. (Charles Norris)