morris: [15] Etymologically, the morris dance is a ‘Moorish dance’. The name, probably borrowed into English from Flemish mooriske dans, implies a perceived connection with a dance performed by the Moors, presumably in Spain, but the dance to which it is applied has far more ancient cultural roots than this would suggest. (The morris of nine men’s morris, incidentally, a sort of old board game, is a different word, perhaps going back ultimately to Old French merel ‘token, counter’.) => moor, morello
surname and masc. proper name, in some cases representing Maurice (common form Morice, or a nickname, Moorish, for onme who is swarthy. As a style of furniture, wallpaper, etc., 1880, in reference to poet and craftsman William Morris (1834-1896).
