a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia
"The FBI launched a new investigation into the mafia, targeting its family-based structure and suspected ties to Sicilian criminal networks."
a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century
"The historical mafia began as a secret group in Sicily that fought against tyranny before transforming into a notorious criminal organization by the mid-1800s."
A hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like distribution of narcotics, gambling and extortion.
"The powerful mafia controlled the city's illegal drug trade through a rigid hierarchy of bosses and lieutenants."
In plain English: A mafia is an organized criminal group that uses violence and threats to control people and make illegal money.
"The movie showed how the mafia controlled the local criminal underworld through fear and violence."
Usage: Use the lowercase form mafia when referring to the general concept or specific groups within the Italian-American crime family structure, but capitalize Mafia only when denoting the organization as a proper noun in historical contexts. Avoid using it as an adjective (e.g., "a mafia boss") unless preceded by a possessive pronoun like "the Mafia's."
An international criminal organization of Sicilian origin operating in Italy and the United States.
"The documentary explores how the mafia evolved from a local Sicilian group into an international criminal organization dominating parts of both Italy and the United States."
The word mafia was borrowed from Italian with an uncertain origin, as scholars cannot yet determine if it began as a Sicilian or national term due to scarce historical records. While its exact roots remain unclear, the phrase likely originally referred to a spirit of hostility toward the law before evolving into its current meaning.