mafia

n. secret criminal organization which operates in the United States and Italy and other countries; any small group that controls or dominates an organization or field (also Maffia)

The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States and in Australia during the late 19th century following waves of Sicilian and Southern Italian emigration (see also Italian diaspora). In North America, the Mafia often refers to Italian organized crime in general, rather than just traditional Sicilian organized crime. According to historian Paolo Pezzino: "The Mafia is a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory..."
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Mafia!, also known as Jane Austen's Mafia! is a 1998 comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams and starring Jay Mohr, Lloyd Bridges, Olympia Dukakis, and Christina Applegate. It spoofs Coppola's Godfather series and various other mafia films, notably Scorsese's Casino and Goodfellas. The film also parodies movies in other genres, ranging from Forrest Gump to Il Postino and The English Patient.
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Mafia generally refers to the Italian criminal organization Cosa Nostra or to a criminal organization with a similar structure, such as the Russian Mafia (see the list of criminal organizations). It may also mean:Mafia Island, part of TanzaniaMafia (game), a party game, a video game from GatheringJane Austen's Mafia!, a 1998 comedy filmMafia, an album by Black Label SocietyB.U.G. Mafia or simply Mafia is a Romanian rap group since 1995.MAFIAA, a pejorative name for the RIAA and MPAA, United States based trade groups representing the music and motion picture industries respectively.MAFFIA, a pejorative name for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, a UK Government ministry.The Greenhouse Mafia, a 2006 program on Four Corners about Australia's failure to respond to global warming.Three 6 Mafia, a hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee.The Dixie Mafia, a criminal organization in operating primarily in the southern United States of America
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Noun
1. a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia
(synonym) Maffia, Cosa Nostra
(hypernym) syndicate, crime syndicate, mob, family
(member-meronym) mafioso
(class) omerta
2. a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century
(synonym) Maffia, Sicilian Mafia
(hypernym) organized crime, gangland, gangdom
(member-meronym) mafioso

Noun
1. any tightly knit group of trusted associates
(synonym) maffia
(hypernym) clique, coterie, ingroup, inner circle, pack, camp
(classification) colloquialism

n. mafia, maffia, underworld, organized crime, extensive network of criminals who work together to accomplish illegal activities without getting caught

n. mafia, secret criminal organization which operates in the United States and Italy and other countries, any small group that controls or dominates an organization or field (also Maffia)