Definition
n. a large, organized group of criminals that often controls illegal businesses. It is most famous for its history in Italy and the United States.
n. a hierarchical criminal organization, typically of Italian origin, involved in racketeering and other illegal activities. When used with a lowercase 'm', it can describe any closed group that exerts secret influence in a specific field.
Examples
“The police spent years investigating the local Mafia.”
“The documentary explores how the Mafia gained control over the city's construction industry during the mid-twentieth century.”
Examples
simple
“The police spent years investigating the local Mafia.”
contextual
“The documentary explores how the Mafia gained control over the city's construction industry during the mid-twentieth century.”
Usage
Capitalised when referring to the specific Italian-American or Sicilian organization; often takes a singular verb but can take a plural verb in British English.
Real-World Examples
“In Cosco's case, both her mother's family and her father were tied to the mafia.” Etymology
Borrowed from Italian mafia, of uncertain origin. In the first instance, it is not clear whether the lemma in question is a Sicilian exonym or endonym, since written and oral sources on this term are scarce, the etymology remains uncertain and it's worthy of further investigation. It is possibly a regional term of the then recently established Kingdom of Italy; thus the meaning "spirit of hostility to the law" could be just derivative. The hypotheses put forward have been varied, but not very convincing from a reconstructive point of view. See Sicilian mafia for more. See, also, the Wikipedia article for more discussion of the origin of the word. Doublet of mafiya.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/mafia
「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
‘외래어’ data: 한국어기초사전 (국립국어원), CC BY-SA 2.0 KR