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MAFIA
mafia, maffia
(noun) any tightly knit group of trusted associates
Mafia, Maffia, Sicilian Mafia
(noun) a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century
Mafia, Maffia, Cosa Nostra
(noun) a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
See Mafia. The sense "entity which attempts to control a specified arena" makes an analogy to crime-syndicate mafias' attempts to control certain kinds of business in the regions in which they exist.
Noun
mafia (plural mafias)
A hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like distribution of narcotics, gambling and extortion.
A crime syndicate.
A trusted group of associates, as of a political leader.
(in compound terms such as "moral mafia") An entity which attempts to control a specified arena.
Etymology
Proper noun
the Mafia
(specifically) An international criminal organization of Sicilian origin operating in Italy and the United States.
Synonym: Cosa Nostra
(by extension) Any organized crime syndicate operating internationally in high-level organized crime; often with a modifying adjective, such as a nationality.
Synonym: mob
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".
Alternative letter-case form of mafia (“an entity which attempts to control a specified arena”)
Source: Wiktionary
Maf"fi*a, Ma"fi*a, n. [It. maffia.]
Definition: A secret society which organized in Sicily as a political organization, but is now widespread among Italians, and is used to further or protect private interests, reputedly by illegal methods.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Word of the Day
24 March 2025
STACCATO
(adjective) (music) marked by or composed of disconnected parts or sounds; cut short crisply; “staccato applause”; “a staccato command”; “staccato notes”
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