Mafia - Dictionary definition and pronunciation - Yahoo! Education
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Ma·fi·a  audio  (mäf-) KEY 

NOUN:
  1. A secret terrorist organization in Sicily, operating since the early 19th century in opposition to legal authority.
  2. A secret criminal organization of Italian origin operating in the United States and engaged in illegal activities such as gambling, drug-dealing, and prostitution.
  3. Any of various similar criminal organizations, especially when dominated by members of the same nationality.
  4. often mafia Informal A tightly knit group of trusted associates, as of a political leader: "[He] is one of the personal mafia that [the chancellor] brought with him to Bonn" (Christian Science Monitor).
ETYMOLOGY:
Italian, perhaps from dialectal mafia, bluster, boldness


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