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Question
#674. Greg
asks:
What does mafia mean in Italian?
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oldnavy
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The word meaning 'swank' was coined in the 19th century, when the Mafia was employed by the great landowners of Sicily to manage their estates.
Apr 05 00, 11:39 AM
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dave_fl
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The mafia of present day has nothing to do with the ancient tribal concept of the Mafia that dates back to the ninth century when Sicily as ruled by Arab invaders. The Arabic word, mafia, means 'place of refuge' and this term originally applied to those hillside refuges to which oppressed inhabitants of the island fled. In the fifteenth century, the Spaniards conquered Siciliy bringing all the horrors of the Inquisition. Again the inhabitants sought the 'mafia' strongholds in the hillsides. According to one story, the origin of the word 'mafia' began with the French invasion of Sicily in 1282, and the saying 'Morte Alla Francia Italia Anela!' ('Death to the French is Italy's Cry!') or M.A.F.I.A.
Apr 05 00, 3:07 PM
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Yaarbiriah 
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The word "mafia" is taken from the old Sicilian adjective mafiusu, which has its roots in the Arabic mahj(g)as, meaning "sanctuary" - later came to mean "swagger", or "boldness, bravado".
scholar Diego Gambetta- Wikipedia
Apr 23 07, 5:29 PM
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