see|Mafia
wikipedia|dab=mafia (disambiguation)|mafia
English
Etymology
From It. #Italian|mafia.
Noun
wikipedia
mafia
- A trusted group of associates of a political leader
Translations
Spanish: mafia f
Italian
wikipedia|lang=it|Mafia (disambigua)
Etymology
There are several theories about the origin of the term. The Sicilian language|Sicilian adjective mafiusu may derive from the Arabic mahyas, meaning "aggressive boasting, bragging", or marfud meaning "rejected". Roughly translated, it means "swagger", but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, mafiusu in 19th century Sicily was ambiguous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising, and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta.<ref name="mafiusu">This etymology is based on the books Mafioso by Gaia Servadio; The Sicilian Mafia by Diego Gambetta; and Cosa Nostra by John Dickie (see #Books|Books below).</ref>
According to the Sicilian ethnographer Giuseppe Pitrè, the association of the word with the criminal secret society was made by the 1863 play I mafiusi di la Vicaria (The Beautiful (people) of Vicaria) by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaetano Mosca, which is about criminal gangs in the Palermo prison.<ref>Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia, p. 136</ref> The words Mafia and mafiusi (plural of mafiusu) are never mentioned in the play, and were probably put in the title because it would add local flair.
The association between mafiusi and criminal gangs was made by the association the play's title made with the criminal gangs that were new to Sicilian and Italian society at the time. Consequently, the word "mafia" was generated from a fictional source loosely inspired by the real thing and was used by outsiders to describe it. The use of the term "mafia" was subsequently taken over in the Italy|Italian state's early reports on the phenomenon. The word "mafia" made its first official appearance in 1865 in a report by the prefect of Palermo, Filippo Antonio Gualterio.
Leopoldo Franchetti, an Italian deputy who travelled to Sicily and who wrote one of the first authoritative reports on the mafia in 1876, saw the Mafia as an "industry of violence" and described the designation of the term "mafia": "the term mafia found a class of violent criminals ready and waiting for a name to define them, and, given their special character and importance in Sicilian society, they had the right to a different name from that defining vulgar criminals in other countries."<ref namegambetta137>Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia, p. 137</ref> He saw the Mafia as deeply rooted in Sicilian society and impossible to quench unless the very structure of the island's social institutions were to undergo a fundamental change.<ref nameservadio42> Servadio, Mafioso, p. 42-43</ref>
;The real name: Cosa Nostra
According to some mafiosi, the real name of the Mafia is "Cosa Nostra" ("Our thing"). Many have claimed, as did the Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta, that the word "mafia" was a literary creation. Other Mafia defectors, such as Antonio Calderone and Salvatore Contorno, said the same thing. According to them, the real thing was "cosa nostra". To men of honour belonging to the organization, there is no need to name it. Mafiosi introduce known members to other known members as belonging to "cosa nostra" (our thing) or la stessa cosa (the same thing), meaning "he is the same thing, a mafioso, as you". Only the outside world needs a name to describe it, hence the capitalized form "Cosa Nostra".
Cosa Nostra was first used, in the early 1960s, in the United States by Joseph Valachi, a mafioso turned state witness, during the hearings of the McClellan? Hearings|McClellan? Commission.<ref>Their Thing, Time, August 16, 1963</ref><ref>Killers in Prison, Time, October 4, 1963</ref><ref>"The Smell of It", Time, October 11, 1963</ref> At the time, it was understood as a proper name, fostered by the FBI and disseminated by the media. The designation gained wide popularity and almost replaced the term Mafia. The FBI even added an article to the term, calling it 'La Cosa Nostra'. In Italy the article 'la' is never used when the term refers to the Mafia.
;Other Names
The Mafia has used many other names to describe itself throughout its history, such as The Honoured Society. Mafiosi are known among themselves as Men of Honour.
Noun
it-noun|mafi|f|a|e
- The Mafia.
- mafia#English|mafia
Derived terms
mafioso
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