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Mafia   Listen
noun
Mafia, Maffia  n.  
1.
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; called also the Sicilian Mafia.
2.
A group of loosely associated of criminal organizations in the United States, some having ties to the Sicilian Mafia, and organized in "families"; the term is applied to the entire group of organizations, or to any one local group. Also, loosely, organized groups of criminals anywhere, as the Russian mafia.
Synonyms: syndicate, mob, Cosa Nostra, La Cosa Nostra, organized crime.
3.
Any tightly knit group of trusted associates having strong control or influence in some area; as, Kennedy and his Irish Mafia. (informal)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Mafia" Quotes from Famous Books



... privately whether she was thinking of hand organ men or members of the Mafia society, but it was no opportunity to inquire. My impression is that about this time, in spite of Tuscany outside, I went to sleep, because my next recollection is of the little Captain pouring Chianti out of a large black bottle into momma's jointed silver travelling ...
— A Voyage of Consolation - (being in the nature of a sequel to the experiences of 'An - American girl in London') • Sara Jeannette Duncan
... in coming and going through such a country. Fortunately for the people most directly concerned to avoid these unpleasantnesses a systematic leakage seems to exist in the machinery of mischief. The places where the oaths of this local "Mafia" are administered, for instance, are well known. A roadside near a chapel is frequently selected—and this for two or three obvious reasons. The sanctity of the spot may be supposed to impress the neophyte; and if the ...
— Ireland Under Coercion (2nd ed.) (2 of 2) (1888) • William Henry Hurlbert


Words linked to "Mafia" :   camp, syndicate, omerta, gangdom, coterie, gangland, mafioso, maffia, organized crime, clique, inner circle, pack, ingroup, Sicilian Mafia, terrorist act, crime syndicate


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