The Spanish word 'morocho' comes from the Quechua word 'muruch'u', which referred to a variety of hard corn. In Spanish, the meaning shifted metaphorically to describe a person with dark skin or black hair, likely drawing a connection between the color of certain corn varieties and physical characteristics of people.

Since 'morocho' comes from Quechua, an indigenous language of South America, there aren't many simpler or more common Spanish words that share its etymology. This is one of many words that Spanish acquired through contact with indigenous American languages during colonization.

There aren't any common English words directly related to 'morocho' since it comes from Quechua. However, English speakers might be interested to know that many other food-related words came into Spanish (and sometimes English) from indigenous American languages, such as 'chocolate' (from Nahuatl) and 'potato' (from Taíno).