MAFIA Definition & Meaning

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Mafia

[ mah-fee-uh; especially British, maf-ee-uh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the Mafia, a hierarchically structured secret organization allegedly engaged in smuggling, racketeering, trafficking in narcotics, and other criminal activities in the United States, Italy, and elsewhere.
Usually mafia. any criminal organization viewed as similar to the Mafia:
The movie concerns a low-life gambler who borrows money from the French mafia for a seat at a high-stakes poker game.
Often mafia. any small but powerful or influential group in an organization or field; an inordinately prominent and controlling clique:
It was difficult to be the only woman involved in this macho, musical mafia.
(in Sicily)
1. mafia, a popular attitude of hostility to legal restraint and to the law, often manifesting itself in criminal acts.
2. a 19th-century secret society, similar to the Camorra in Naples, associated with this attitude toward law and crime.

Mafia

/ ˈ��æ��ɪə /

noun

the Mafia
an international secret organization founded in Sicily, probably in opposition to tyranny. It developed into a criminal organization and in the late 19th century was carried to the US by Italian immigrants
any group considered to resemble the Mafia See also Black Hand Camorra Cosa Nostra

Mafia

A criminal organization that originated in Sicily and was brought to the United States by Italian immigrants in the late nineteenth century. The Mafia is also called the Syndicate, the Mob, and the Cosa Nostra (Our Thing). The Mafia built its power through extortion (forcing tradesmen and shopkeepers to buy Mafia protection against destruction) and by dominating the bootlegging industry (the illegal production and distribution of liquor) during Prohibition . Members of the Mafia often lead outwardly respectable lives and maintain a variety of legitimate businesses as a front, or cover, for their criminal activities, which include extortion, gambling, and narcotics distribution.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of Mafia¹

First recorded in 1870–75; from Italian, earlier maffia “arrogance” (in Sicilian: “bravery, excellence”), apparently a back formation from mafiuso mafioso ( def )

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of Mafia¹

C19: from Sicilian dialect of Italian, literally hostility to the law, boldness, perhaps from Arabic mahyah bragging

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Some employees referred to them as “Armenian bad guys” or the “Southern California Armenian Mafia.”

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Trump behaves more like a Mafia boss whose insults can be interpreted by his lieutenants as an order to commit violence.

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About half of those prisoners are Latino, and Munguia told internal investigators the Mexican Mafia dictates their lives behind bars.

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We became close during his season in hell, where he was surrounded by what the rapper described as hardened Mexican Mafia killers.

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He bragged about prosecuting members of the Mexican Mafia, a prison gang; and of the Vagos motorcycle gang.

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