[ma.quis] n, pl ma.quis [F, fr. It macchie, pl. of macchia thicket, sketch, spot] (1858) 1: thick scrubby underbrush of Mediterranean shores and esp. of the island of Corsica; also: an area of such underbrush
2. often cap a: a guerrilla fighter in the French underground during World War II b: a band of maquis