<< COLUMN DOESN'T RECALL ~ MAIN ~ HOWARD LOSES INFLUENCE, LOYALTY >>
YOUTH VERSUS EXPERIENCE
Italy is still to decide on a new leader .
well i guess the Gambino family knows best.
would’nt want to end up swimming with the fishes.
but hey some put the origins back to before the liberation by the Normans.Another theory of the origin of “mafia” begins as early as the 9th century. During that period, Sicily was ruled by Arab forces. The original inhabitants were oppressed, and desperately tried to escape and find refuge. In Arabic, the word “mafia” means, “refuge.” Sicily was invaded by the Normans in the 11th century and its people were forced into labor and oppression once again.
Just for fun:
My research shows the word ‘Mafia’ was first mentioned in literature, published in a list of heretics, in 1668. It followed the name of a witch, and meant ‘boldness’, ‘ambition’, and ‘arrogance’. None of these qualities were considered proper for a woman, and thus the word ‘mafia’ took on its first negative connotation.
For those who believe that Arabic affected the word ‘mafia’ during the period of Arab control of Sicily, after the fall of the Roman Empire in 846 AD, I think the rules of linguistics (cognates) might be being a bit stretched here.
For a fact, the “ah” (below) is a transliteration of the uvular guttural vowel ‘ayin, and many, many other Arabic loan words with similar structure do not translate this morpheme as a labio-dental unvoiced fricative (“f”).
The word in question is ‘Mahias’ an Arabic word meaning ‘bold man’, and this is believed (by some) to be incorporated into the modern term mafia, which also implies the bold and aggressive nature of its constituents.
Mario Puzo gives us this etymology:
‘’ ‘Mafia,’ in Arabic, means a place of sanctuary,’’ he writes, ‘‘and the word took its place in the Sicilian language when the Saracens ruled the country in the 10th century. Throughout history, the people of Sicily were oppressed mercilessly by the Romans, the Papacy, the Normans, the French, the Germans and the Spanish. Their Governments enslaved the poor, working class, exploiting their labor, raping their women, murdering their leaders. Even the rich did not escape. The Spanish Inquisition of the Holy Catholic Church stripped them of their wealth for being heretics. And so the ‘Mafia’ sprang up as a secret society of avengers.’’
I don’t buy either one. I’m sticking with the first, Italian, perhaps from dialectal mafia, meaning bluster, boldness; but then—I’m just a dilettante.
Posted by MentalFloss on 2006 04 12 at 01:03 AM • permalinkAlso, when you consider that a “made” mafioso gives orders and does not engage in the dangerous activities themselves, they actually quickly cease to be bold and get rather “retiring”.
Oh, they got the big guy too, just yesterday, after 40 years. Gave up without a fight—the “Phantom Corleone”, I think they call(ed) him.
Posted by MentalFloss on 2006 04 12 at 01:10 AM • permalinkProdi is in - Italian troops out by XMAS - the voice of democracy has been yelled from the Roman rooftops - “We will not be part of the mess anymore”.
Posted by Nuke_everyone on 2006 04 12 at 09:26 AM • permalinkan articulation of democracy that you dont like is a terrible thing - but it must be accepted - just makes you ponder where all those fools came from??
Posted by Nuke_everyone on 2006 04 12 at 09:50 AM • permalink#11 Thanks for that El Cid. Fascinating example of “folk” etymology, and well worth considering as the source of the word in question.
After all, the international cry of “Mayday! Mayday!” comes (unsurprisingly)from the French imperative “m’aidez”—“Help me”
Posted by MentalFloss on 2006 04 12 at 05:12 PM • permalink
Page 1 of 1 pages
Members:
Login | Register
| Member List
I pledge my support to whoever gets the job, capiche?