Meaning

noun a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia

noun a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century

noun any tightly knit group of trusted associates

originEtymology tree Italian Maffiabor. English Maffia Borrowed from Italian Maffia.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0