मराठा or Maratha country was some region in the Western Maharashtra or Desh or Deccan region and Konkan region of present day Maharashtra. The word "मराठा" is pronounced as "mara-tha". The word originates from "महाराठा", which in turn is a strong T form of the word महारथा. महारथा means a man with ability to defeat 10,000 bowmen. It is a degree of excellence. From this it should be easy to see that they are not a tightly-bound ethnic group, but rather a confederacy of skilled people. However in present day, the word मराठी (marathi) denotes a group of people who speak the Indo-Aryan language of the same name, and live in the state of Maharashtra.
The Prakrit word Maratha is found in Jain Maharashtri literature. In the tenth century Al-Biruni mentions the Maratha region with Thane as its capital.The Shepherds of Maratha country are called Dhangar, not Maratha. The maratha samaj comprises 96 clans of Marathas of rajput origin, and a larger Kunbi-yeoman class of people. (Maratha (Singular) / Marathe (Plural)/ Bar-hatta, i.e. Hatkar) (Hatkars of Western Maharashtra and Konkan are also called Maratha Dhangar). Later Maratha Empire comprised much of present day India.
National Anthem of India includes Maratha region, "O! Dispenser of India's destiny, thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, the Maratha country, in the Dravida, Utkala and Bengal.
Maratha meant person of Maratha country. In 1342, the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta referred to all the native inhabitants of Deogiri region as belonging collectively to the "tribe" of 'Marhatas', whose elite included both Brahmins and Ksytriyas. Mahratta is an English corruption or misspelling of the word Maratha.