n.
Pronunciation: ' mä-f ē - ə , ' ma-
Function: noun
Etymology: Mafia, Maffia, a Sicilian secret criminal society, from Italian dialect (Sicily), probably from mafiusu
Date: 1875
1 a : a secret criminal society of Sicily or Italy b : a similarly conceived criminal organization in the U.S. also : a similar organization elsewhere <the Japanese Mafia > c : a criminal organization associated with a particular traffic <the cocaine Mafia >
2 often not capitalized : a group of people likened to the Mafia especially : a group of people of similar interests or backgrounds prominent in a particular field or enterprise : CLIQUE