Origin of the term 'mafia'
The word "mafia" is derived from the old Sicilian adjective "mafiusu" which has its roots in the Arabic mahjas, meaning "aggressive boasting, bragging". Roughly translated it means "swagger", but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, "mafiusu" in 19th-century Sicily was ambig
uous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising, and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta.
The word "mafia" is derived from the old Sicilian adjective "mafiusu" which has its roots in the Arabic mahjas, meaning "aggressive boasting, bragging". Roughly translated it means "swagger", but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, "mafiusu" in 19th-century Sicily was ambig
uous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising, and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta.
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