English
Mafia
Mafia comes from Italian mafia ‘the Mafia’.
- Italianc. 1300–presentmafia‘the Mafia’
- EnglishtodayMafia
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Italianc. 1300–presentmafia‘the Mafia’
- EnglishtodayMafia
The story
Borrowed from Italian mafia, of uncertain origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. 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.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. 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.
Every English word from Italian mafia
Today it means
name The international criminal organization of Sicilian origin operating in Italy and the United States.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Italian mafia / Mafia