mafia

See also: Mafia, máfia, màfia, and mafią

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑfi.ə/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmæfi.ə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

mafia (plural mafias)

1. A hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like distribution of narcotics, gambling and extortion.
2. A crime syndicate.
3. A trusted group of associates, as of a political leader.
4. (in compound terms such as "moral mafia") An entity which attempts to control a specified arena by violence or threats.
   • 1994, Francis Wheen, Lord Gnome's Literary Companion, page 161:

     Worse, it confirms what one always suspected about the 1930s literary mafia, with their graceless posing and relentless self-obsession — what terrible , terrible bores they were.

   • 2000, Senator Robert Torricelli, Andrew Carroll, In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century, page 432:

     Since the victory of gadgetry is "inevitable," you might as well come along quietly and let us smother you in speed and convenience, says the digital mafia.

   • 2019, Anne Holt, In Dust and Ashes, page 83:

     I can scarcely leave the apartment without being engulfed by journalists, not to mention the fucking left-wing activists and the multicultural mafia that assailed me with spitting and verbal abuse the last time I ventured out […]

Derived terms

• alphabet mafia
• mafia hypothesis
• mafia state
• nonmafia

 

Translations

a crime syndicate

• Albanian: mafia
• Arabic: مَافِيَا f (māfiyā)
• Armenian: մաֆիա (hy) (mafia)
• Azerbaijani: mafia
• Belarusian: ма́фія f (máfija)
• Bulgarian: ма́фия (bg) f (máfija)
• Catalan: màfia f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黑手黨／黑手党 (zh) (hēishǒudǎng), 秘密政黨／秘密政党 (mìmì zhèngdǎng), 秘密集團／秘密集团 (mìmì jítuán)

• Czech: mafie (cs) f
• Danish: mafia
• Dutch: maffia (nl) m
• Esperanto: mafio
• Estonian: maffia (et)
• Finnish: mafia (fi)
• French: mafia (fr) f
• Galician: mafia (gl) f
• Georgian: მაფია (mapia)
• German: Mafia (de) f
• Greek: μαφία (el) f (mafía)
• Hebrew: מַפִיָה (he) f (mafiya)
• Hindi: माफ़िया m (māfiyā)
• Hungarian: maffia (hu)
• Italian: mafia (it) f
• Japanese: マフィア (ja) (mafia), 秘密集団 (ひみつしゅうだん, himitsu shūdan), (Japanese mafia) やくざ (ja) (yakuza), 黒手党 (こくしゅとう, kokushutō)
• Kazakh: мафия (mafiä)
• Korean: 마피아 (ko) (mapia)
• Kyrgyz: мафия (mafiya)
• Latvian: mafija f
• Lithuanian: mafija (lt) f
• Macedonian: мафија f (mafija)
• Mongolian: мафи (mn) (mafi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mafia

• Persian: مافیا (fa) (mâfyâ)
• Polish: mafia (pl) f
• Portuguese: máfia (pt) f
• Romanian: mafie (ro) f
• Russian: ма́фия (ru) f (máfija)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мафија f

  Roman: mafija (sh) f

• Slovak: mafia f
• Slovene: mafija (sl) f
• Spanish: mafia (es) f
• Swedish: maffia (sv)
• Tagalog: sindikato
• Tajik: мафия (mafiya)
• Thai: มาเฟีย (th) (maa-fiia)
• Turkish: mafya (tr)
• Turkmen: mafiýa
• Ukrainian: ма́фія f (máfija)
• Urdu: مافیا m (māfiyā)
• Uzbek: mafiya (uz)
• Vietnamese: xã hội đen (vi)

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English mafia.

Noun

mafia c (singular definite mafiaen, plural indefinite mafiaer)

1. A mafia.

Declension

Declension of mafia

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	mafia	mafiaen	mafiaer	mafiaerne
genitive	mafias	mafiaens	mafiaers	mafiaernes

Derived terms

• mafiafamilie

Finnish

Etymology

From Italian mafia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑfiɑ/, [ˈmɑ̝fiɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑfiɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ma‧fi‧a

Noun

mafia

1. mafia

Declension

Inflection of mafia (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)
nominative		mafia	mafiat
genitive		mafian	mafioiden mafioitten
partitive		mafiaa	mafioita
illative		mafiaan	mafioihin
		singular	plural
nominative		mafia	mafiat
accusative	nom.	mafia	mafiat
	gen.	mafian
genitive		mafian	mafioiden mafioitten mafiain rare
partitive		mafiaa	mafioita
inessive		mafiassa	mafioissa
elative		mafiasta	mafioista
illative		mafiaan	mafioihin
adessive		mafialla	mafioilla
ablative		mafialta	mafioilta
allative		mafialle	mafioille
essive		mafiana	mafioina
translative		mafiaksi	mafioiksi
abessive		mafiatta	mafioitta
instructive		—	mafioin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of mafia (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative mafiani mafiani accusative nom. mafiani mafiani gen. mafiani genitive mafiani mafioideni mafioitteni mafiaini rare partitive mafiaani mafioitani inessive mafiassani mafioissani elative mafiastani mafioistani illative mafiaani mafioihini adessive mafiallani mafioillani ablative mafialtani mafioiltani allative mafialleni mafioilleni essive mafianani mafioinani translative mafiakseni mafioikseni abessive mafiattani mafioittani instructive — — comitative — mafioineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative mafiasi mafiasi accusative nom. mafiasi mafiasi gen. mafiasi genitive mafiasi mafioidesi mafioittesi mafiaisi rare partitive mafiaasi mafioitasi inessive mafiassasi mafioissasi elative mafiastasi mafioistasi illative mafiaasi mafioihisi adessive mafiallasi mafioillasi ablative mafialtasi mafioiltasi allative mafiallesi mafioillesi essive mafianasi mafioinasi translative mafiaksesi mafioiksesi abessive mafiattasi mafioittasi instructive — — comitative — mafioinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative mafiamme mafiamme accusative nom. mafiamme mafiamme gen. mafiamme genitive mafiamme mafioidemme mafioittemme mafiaimme rare partitive mafiaamme mafioitamme inessive mafiassamme mafioissamme elative mafiastamme mafioistamme illative mafiaamme mafioihimme adessive mafiallamme mafioillamme ablative mafialtamme mafioiltamme allative mafiallemme mafioillemme essive mafianamme mafioinamme translative mafiaksemme mafioiksemme abessive mafiattamme mafioittamme instructive — — comitative — mafioinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative mafianne mafianne accusative nom. mafianne mafianne gen. mafianne genitive mafianne mafioidenne mafioittenne mafiainne rare partitive mafiaanne mafioitanne inessive mafiassanne mafioissanne elative mafiastanne mafioistanne illative mafiaanne mafioihinne adessive mafiallanne mafioillanne ablative mafialtanne mafioiltanne allative mafiallenne mafioillenne essive mafiananne mafioinanne translative mafiaksenne mafioiksenne abessive mafiattanne mafioittanne instructive — — comitative — mafioinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative mafiansa mafiansa accusative nom. mafiansa mafiansa gen. mafiansa genitive mafiansa mafioidensa mafioittensa mafiainsa rare partitive mafiaansa mafioitaan mafioitansa inessive mafiassaan mafiassansa mafioissaan mafioissansa elative mafiastaan mafiastansa mafioistaan mafioistansa illative mafiaansa mafioihinsa adessive mafiallaan mafiallansa mafioillaan mafioillansa ablative mafialtaan mafialtansa mafioiltaan mafioiltansa allative mafialleen mafiallensa mafioilleen mafioillensa essive mafianaan mafianansa mafioinaan mafioinansa translative mafiakseen mafiaksensa mafioikseen mafioiksensa abessive mafiattaan mafiattansa mafioittaan mafioittansa instructive — — comitative — mafioineen mafioinensa

Further reading

• “mafia”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.fja/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

mafia f (plural mafias)

1. the Mafia

Further reading

• “mafia”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian mafia.

Noun

mafia f (plural mafias)

1. Mafia (Italian Mafia)
2. Mafia (any criminal organisation)

   Synonym: cartel

Derived terms

• mafioso

Italian

Alternative forms

• maffia (obsolete)

Etymology

Uncertain. Maybe from Arabic مَهْيَاص (mahyāṣ, “cocky, bragger”) (compare Hebrew מָחַץ (“makháts”) to crush, though Piedmontese mafio is considered another possible source. Compare Sicilian mafia for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.fja/
• Rhymes: -afja
• Hyphenation: mà‧fia

Noun

mafia f (plural mafie)

1. the Mafia (International organized crime organization)
2. mafia (Individual branch)
3. arrogance

Derived terms

• mafioso
• mafiologo
• mafiosità

Descendants

• → German: Mafia
• → Turkish: mafya
• → Maltese: mafja
• → Romanian: mafie
• → Russian: ма́фия (máfija)
• → Spanish: mafia

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• (non-standard since 1987) maffia

Noun

mafia m (definite singular mafiaen, indefinite plural mafiaer, definite plural mafiaene)

1. mafia, Mafia

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• (non-standard since 1987) maffia

Noun

mafia m (definite singular mafiaen, indefinite plural mafiaer or mafiaar, definite plural mafiaene or mafiaane)

1. mafia, Mafia

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian mafia, from Sicilian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.fja/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -afja
• Syllabification: ma‧fia

Noun

mafia f

1. mafia (crime syndicate)

   Synonym: ośmiornica

2. mafia (trusted group of associates, as of a political leader)

Declension

Declension of mafia

	singular	plural
nominative	mafia	mafie
genitive	mafii	mafii/mafij (archaic)
dative	mafii	mafiom
accusative	mafię	mafie
instrumental	mafią	mafiami
locative	mafii	mafiach
vocative	mafio	mafie

Derived terms

adjective

• mafijny

 

Related terms

adverb

• mafijnie

 

nouns

• mafijność
• mafioso

 

Further reading

• mafia in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• mafia in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Sicilian

Alternative forms

• màfia (trisyllabic spelling)

Etymology

Uncertain. The first official sources in which this term appears date back to 1863 in the title of the theatrical work "I mafiusi de la Vicaria" set in the Vicaria prison in Palermo and written by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaetano Mosca. In 1865, in a report by the prefect of Palermo, Filippo Antonio Gualterio, this term was used for the first time, in its Italian geminated variant maffia, with the meaning of a criminal and subversive organization that brought together delinquents, pro-Mazzinians (i.e. republicans) and pro-Bourbons (i.e. anti-Savoyards) with the aim of overthrowing the newborn Kingdom of Italy. Outside of these official sources, the etymology in question is often associated with an uncertain Arabism or with various terms of various origins, including several dialectal origins from the rest of Italy, such as from Piedmont or from Tuscany. In any case, many of the hypotheses proposed are merely speculative and fail to resolve the main phono-morphological disagreements. In particular, it must be emphasized that this word may have been possibly used as an exonym referring to dissidents following the annexation of the island of Sicily, then acquiring the widespread meaning.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.fja/ (synaeretic)
• IPA^(key): /ˈma.fɪ.a/ (dieretic)
• Hyphenation: mà‧fia

Noun

mafia f (plural mafi)

1. the Mafia (International organized crime organization)
2. a mafia (an individual branch)
3. arrogance

Usage notes

• Among the speakers it was not common to refer to mafia in public or political speaking
• The use of the word often derived from an exchange with non-island people, so its main meaning is often borrowed

Derived terms

• carusa mafiusa
• fìmmina mafiusa
• mafiusa
• mafiusità
• mafiusu
• urganizzazziuni mafiusa

 

Related terms

• cosca
• cumannanti
• cumarca
• famigghia
• guappu
• pizzinu
• pizzu
• spacchiusu
• vappu

 

Descendants

• →? Italian: mafia

See also

• Camorra
• Cosa Nostra
• Ntràgnita
• Ntrànghita
• Stiḍḍa
• Yakuza

 

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian mafia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmafja/ [ˈma.fja]
• Rhymes: -afja
• Syllabification: ma‧fia

Noun

mafia f (plural mafias)

1. Mafia (Italian Mafia)
2. Mafia (any criminal organization)

   Synonym: cartel

Derived terms

• antimafia
• mafioso

 

Further reading

• “mafia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 23rd edition, Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 October 16