mafioso
Americannoun
plural
mafiosi, mafiososnoun
Etymology
Origin of mafioso
First recorded in 1870–75; from Sicilian mafiusu “arrogance, bravado,” of disputed origin; perhaps ultimately from Arabic marfūḍ “outcast” (compare archaic Italian malfusso “wretched,” archaic Spanish marfuz “deceitful, rejected”); perhaps ultimately from Arabic mahyāṣ “braggart, show-off”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Scorsese grew up in New York’s Little Italy as a Catholic altar boy and aspiring priest who was also fascinated by the mafiosos that loomed large in his community.
There’s a catch, a gimmick even, as De Niro stars opposite himself, playing both Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two notorious real-life Italian American mafiosi who have inspired many movies and documentaries.
From Los Angeles Times
They have drawn at all kinds of trials, including New York mafiosos’ and Martha Stewart’s, throughout their lengthy careers.
From BBC
Far from the stately La Scala opera house, the Opera prison on Milan’s southern edge has over 1,400 inmates, including 101 mafiosi held under a strict regime of near-total isolation.
From Seattle Times
Messina Denaro, seized in January after three decades on the run, died on Monday of cancer in a hospital in central Italy, taking to the grave the secrets of his mafioso past.
From Reuters
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
