Mafia

Ma·fi·a  (mäf-)

n.

1. A secret terrorist organization in Sicily, operating since the early 19th century in opposition to legal authority.

2. A secret criminal organization of Italian origin operating in the United States and engaged in illegal activities such as gambling, drug-dealing, and prostitution.

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

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.]

---

Mafia

Noun

the Mafia a secret criminal organization founded in Sicily, and carried to the US by Italian immigrants [Sicilian dialect, literally: hostility to the law]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Mafia - a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia Cosa Nostra, Maffia omerta - a code of silence practiced by the Mafia; a refusal to give evidence to the police about criminal activities crime syndicate, syndicate, mob, family - a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities mafioso - a member of the Mafia crime syndicate in the United States
	2.	Mafia - a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century Sicilian Mafia, Maffia act of terrorism, terrorism, terrorist act - the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear gangdom, gangland, organized crime - underworld organizations mafioso - a member of the Sicilian Mafia
	3.	mafia - any tightly knit group of trusted associates maffia colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech clique, coterie, ingroup, inner circle, camp, pack - an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose

Translations

Mafia [ˈmæfɪə] n → Mafia

---

Mafia [ˈmæfɪə] n → maf(f)ia f

---

Mafia [ˈmæfɪə] n → Mafia f

---

Mafia [ˈmæfɪə] n → mafia f