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mafia

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Ma⋅fi⋅a

  [mah-fee-uh, maf-ee-uh]
Use mafia in a Sentence
–noun
1. a hierarchically structured secret organization allegedly engaged in smuggling, racketeering, trafficking in narcotics, and other criminal activities in the U.S., Italy, and elsewhere.
2. (in Sicily)
a. (lowercase) a popular spirit of hostility to legal restraint and to the law, often manifesting itself in criminal acts.
b. a 19th-century secret society, similar to the Camorra in Naples, that acted in this spirit.
3. (often lowercase) any small powerful or influential group in an organization or field; clique.
Also, Maf⋅fi⋅a.

Origin:
1870–75; < It < Sicilian: orig., elegance, bravura, courage; of obscure orig.; the word's history prior to the 19th century is unknown, though many fictitious ideas have circulated regarding its age, source, etc., due to the organization's modern notoriety
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Free Online Mafia Game
Spy on Rivals & Bribe Cops Be Boss of Mafia Family
www.TrentonMade.com
Ma·fi·a   (mä'fē-ə)   
n.  

  1. A secret criminal organization operating mainly in the United States and Italy and engaged in illegal activities such as gambling, drug-dealing, protection, and prostitution.

  2. Any of various similar criminal organizations, especially when dominated by members of the same nationality.

  3. A secret criminal organization operating mainly in Sicily since the early 19th century and known for its intimidation of and retribution against law enforcement officials and witnesses.

  4. often mafia Informal A tightly knit group of trusted associates, as of a political leader: "[He] is one of the personal mafia that [the chancellor] brought with him to Bonn" (Christian Science Monitor).


[Italian, perhaps from dialectal mafia, bluster, boldness.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

Mafia [(mah-fee-uh)]

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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mafia 
1875, from It. Mafia "Sicilian secret society of criminals" (the prevailing sense outside Sicily), earlier, "spirit of hostility to the law and its ministers," from It. (Sicilian) mafia "boldness, bravado," probably from Ar. mahjas "aggressive, boasting, bragging." Or perhaps from O.Fr. mafler "to gluttonize, devour."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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