Mafia

American  

[mah-fee-uh, maf-ee-uh] / ˈmɑ fi ə, ˈmæf i ə /

Rarely Maffia

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. (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.

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Mafia British  

/ ˈmæfɪə /

noun

1. 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

2. any group considered to resemble the Mafia See also Black Hand Camorra Cosa Nostra

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Mafia Cultural  

1. 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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Etymology

Origin of Mafia

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

Example Sentences

His collaborations with Drakeo and Shoreline Mafia ushered in a new wave that upended conventional expectations of what local hip-hop could look and sound like.

From Los Angeles Times

The lawsuit argues that this collusion violated antitrust laws and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, once used to prosecute the Mafia.

From Salon

The word “vendetta,” infuriated Cuomo because it is associated with the Mafia, and he and de Blasio were two Italian American men in a dispute.

From Washington Post

That includes a longtime special agent in Chicago who pleaded guilty to infiltrating the DEA on behalf of drug traffickers and another accused of accepting $250,000 in bribes to protect the Mafia.

From Seattle Times

The presiding judge, Giuseppe Pignatone, is a retired chief prosecutor of Rome who earlier in his career took on the Mafia and economic wrongdoing in Sicily.

From Seattle Times