单词 | Mafia |
释义 | Mafia /mah"fee euh, maf"ee euh/, n. 1. a hierarchically structured secret organization allegedly engaged in smuggling, racketeering, trafficking in narcotics, and other criminal activities in the U.S., Italy, and elsewhere. 2. (in Sicily) a. (l.c.) a popular spirit of hostility to legal restraint and to the law, often manifesting itself in criminal acts. b. a 19th-century secret society, similar to the Camorra in Naples, that acted in this spirit. 3. (often l.c.) any small powerful or influential group in an organization or field; clique. Also, Maffia. [1870-75; < It < Sicilian: orig., elegance, bravura, courage; of obscure orig.; the word's history prior to the 19th century is unknown, though many fictitious ideas have circulated regarding its age, source, etc., due to the organization's modern notoriety] |
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