Where does it come from?

this is an interesting question, especially for me since I've a passion for etymologies! Apparently the word mafia has different possible origins, none of which seems to be more convincing than the others, though.

Take a look at this, it may give you an idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia#Etymology

Puzo in The Godfather writes that originally the word meant "place of refuge".

I have read the word originated from a kidnapping in sicily in the 1800's. When a womens son was kidnapped by a local gang she ran out onto the streets screaming "La Mafia!" Which was a form of the italian word for "mischief"... cant remember were this is from

Maybe it's a version of the story from the site provided by Lavinia?

One of the top question on the board!

And there are a lot of theories.

1: Sicilian Daughter gets raped by a Frenchman...bystander shouts "Morte Alle France, Italia Anela"....not very logical but it's a theory.

2: Sicilian daughter gets shot....mother shouts "Ma Fia" which means my daughter...

3:From the Arabic word "Ma afir"....a name for a Arabic Tribe...which also was against the government

4: Opera named " Il mafiusi di vicaria"...about people in a prison who also maked clans/familys and who had their own rules and initiations.

5: Arabic word "Magtaa" which means cave....and the members of the Ma Afir had there HQ in a cave....(totally not logical!)

Personally I'll go for numer 4!

In Sicilian the word mafia first means something like cool, somebody with aanziem(dont know the English word), a respected man.
A mafioso is someone who doesnt go to the police but take care himself of his problems.
In 1863 the Opera I Mafiusi di la Viciari (Viciari is a prison) give it a criminal meaning (Look at the post of MMFloors).

And of course there are a lot of other theories. Very much!!

I think I read about 10-15 theories about it's origin!

me, around 30-50:)..Maybe thats to much but anyway very very much. If you consider every single Arabic word as 1 theory....Because there are a lot of theorys that the word is from Arabien word(s)

But which one you sign as the one....??? For me it's the opera word "il mafiusi di la vicaria"

I have only heard those of which Floors stated except for the Arabic cave thing. I always, for some reason accepted the "Ma Fia!" theory when the women shouted for her daughter.

I guess its just one of those things that is impossible to find out...

That version can't hardly be true, because at the time it happened the dialect of Sicilians was different and then you wouldn't never get something in the direction of Ma Fia....

I also dont believe in that version but Joseph Bonanno did mention this one as THE one in his autobiography...

It's Sicilian. La Cosa Nostra means the mafia in Sicilian... so actually it may be italian.

Cosa Nostra means "Our Thing"/"This thing of Ours". And Cosa Nostra isn't Sicilian Mafia, two different things.

La Cosa Nostra is the Sicilian Mafia. ---__---

Cosa Nostra is the American Mafia....the Sicilian Mafia is just the "Sicilian Mafia". Cosa Nostra is the name the Americans made up.

So Cosa Nostra is the NY Mafia
The Sicilian Mafia is the Sicilian Mafia (I detect logic

And what is the name of the most important Mafia of Italia (which is the Mafia of Napoli)??

First of all....Cosa Nostra isn't NY mafia alone...it's a slang used by the media for all American Mafia...

Sicilian Mafia is just the Mafia of Sicily...and the strongest is called by the name of the family...like Corleone's or Genco's (...family...)

The Mafia of Napoli is called the Camorra...and they are on their way now...it's one of the oldest Mafia's but still excists...and it's still rising.

BTW The Mafia from Calabria is called the 'Ndrangheta