Mafia

See also mafia

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• Maffia (less common)

Etymology

From Italian. Perhaps from Italian mafia (“spirit of hostility to the law”) or from Sicilian mafia (“boldness, bravado”). See the Wikipedia article for more discussion of the origin of the word.

Proper noun

the Mafia

1. (specifically) An international criminal organization of Sicilian origin operating in Italy and the United States.
2. (by extension) Any organized crime syndicate operating internationally in high-level organized crime; often with a modifying adjective, such as a nationality.

   Somehow he managed to piss off the Russian Mafia.

3. Alternative capitalization of mafia (an entity which attempts to control a specified arena).

Synonyms

• (organization of Sicilian origin): Cosa Nostra, mob
• (any organized crime syndicate): mob

Derived terms

• mafia
• Mafioso
• Mafiya (rare, used to describe Russian "mafias")

Translations

international criminal organisation of Sicilian origin

• Czech: mafie (cs) f
• Finnish: mafia (fi)
• German: Mafia (de) f

• Greek: Μαφία (el) (Mafía) f
• Italian: Mafia (it) f

organized criminal syndicate

• Czech: mafie (cs) f
• Finnish: mafia (fi)

• German: Mafia (de) f
• Greek: μαφία (el) (mafía) f

See also

• Camorra
• capo
• godfather
• goodfella
• 'Ndrangheta
• omertà
• Thuggee
• Triad
• Yakuza

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German

Wikipedia ^de

Alternative forms

• Maffia

Etymology

From Italian mafia.

Noun

Mafia f (genitive Mafia, plural Mafias)

1. Mafia