[ 'mafɪə ]
■ noun [treated as sing. or plural ]
1》 ( the ~ ) an organized international body of criminals originating in Sicily and having a complex and ruthless behavioural code.
2》 (usu. mafia ) a group exerting a hidden sinister influence: the British literary mafia.
Origin
Ital. (Sicilian dialect), orig. in the sense 'bragging'.