Mafia

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Mafia. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Mafia, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Mafia in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Mafia you have here. The definition of the word Mafia will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofMafia, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: mafia, máfia, màfia, and mafią

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Italian mafia. Perhaps from Italian mafia (spirit of hostility to the law) or from Sicilian mafiusu (boldness, bravado). See the Wikipedia article for more discussion of the origin of the word. Doublet of mafiya.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

the Mafia

  1. The Mob: any particular mafia, mentioned uniquely within the discussion's established or implicit context, usually and especially the Sicilian-Italian–Italian-American one (especially in American English) but occasionally others (e.g., the Russian one, the Japanese one).
    Synonym: Mob
    1. The international criminal organization of Sicilian origin operating in Italy and the United States.
      Synonym: Cosa Nostra
    2. Any other specific organized crime syndicate operating internationally in high-level organized crime; often with a modifying adjective, such as a nationality.
      Somehow he managed to upset the Russian Mafia.

Mafia

  1. A party game modelling a conflict between an informed minority (the mafia) and an uninformed majority (the innocents). Each player is secretly assigned a role within one of these teams, and the innocents attempt to identify the mafia members before they are all "murdered".

Derived terms

Translations

See also

German

German Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia de

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian mafia.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmafi̯a/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Mafia f (genitive Mafia, plural Mafias)

  1. Mafia

Declension

Further reading

  • Mafia” in Duden online
  • Mafia” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache