I come from a graphic design background and think of everything in Pantone colors. And in Pantone there is very little difference between Maroon 208 (C10, M97, Y37, K43) and Burgundy 202 (C10, M97, Y61, K48) - Burgundy has more yellow and black. However, when you get in to varying shades, tints and hues of each color, the differences become very muddled.
I agree the best think would be to ask your friend her definition and look at items she calls maroon. Perhaps she even has some fabric you could take with you to try and match.