ARABIC-L: LING: Mafia Response

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Fri 23 Apr 1999
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Mafia Response

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1)
Date: 23 Apr 1999
From: William Granara <granara at fas.harvard.edu>
Subject: Mafia Response

A more likely theory is that the word is a derivative of the Arabic root
ayn, fa', waw, which has the meaning of to guard, protect (forms III and
IV). This seems even more likely given the early history of the Mafia as a
vigilante group which protected the local population against the abuses of
outside (foreign) rulers. See Danilo Dolci's work.
 Regards, William Granara, Harvard U.

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End of Arabic-L: 23 Apr 1999