Arabic-L:LING:Mafia etymology responses

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Fri 11 Jan 2008
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1) Subject:Mafia etymology response
2) Subject:Mafia etymology response
3) Subject:Mafia etymology response
4) Subject:Mafia etymology response
5) Subject:Mafia etymology response
6) Subject:Mafia etymology response

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1)
Date: 11 Jan 2008
From:"Auchterlonie, Paul" <J.P.C.Auchterlonie at exeter.ac.uk>
Subject:Mafia etymology response

There is quite a lot of debate about whether mafia is derived from
Arabic. G.B. Pellegrini in Gli arabismi nelle lingue neolatine (Brescia,
1972) covers the various possibilites, including Maffia, mu`afiya,
mahfal, mahyas, etc., but none are picked out as particularly probable.
Interestingly, the word mafia does not appear the "Indice delle forme
siciliane" in Girolamo Caracausi's Arabismi medievali di Sicilia
(Palermo, 1983).

Paul Auchterlonie.

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2)
Date: 11 Jan 2008
From:"Elizabeth J. Pyatt" <ejp10 at psu.edu>
Subject:Mafia etymology response

For what it's worth - the etymology below is given in the Oxford  
English Dictionary. The origin seems to be from Sicily (not  
surprising), but is unclear before. Arabic marfud may be one source  
but other sources from Italian are also mentioned.

Key {umac} = long u
    {ddotbl} = d with dot

 From Oxford English Dictionary
[< Italian mafia (1865; also {dag}maffia), prob. back-formation <  
mafiuso, Italian regional (Sicily) mafiusu

Italian regional (Sicily) mafiusu, further etymology uncertain and  
disputed.
  Italian regional (Sicily) mafiusu is perh. a blend of marfusu  
scoundrel and marfiuni, marpiuni cheat (Italian marpione; ult. <  
French morpion MORPION n.); Italian regional (Sicily) marfusu (Italian  
{dag}malfusso rascal; 15th cent.) is < Spanish marfuz renegade,  
traitor (1330) < Arabic marf{umac}{ddotbl} outcast, reprobate, passive  
participle of rafa{ddotbl}a refuse to accept, reject.
-- 
Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D.

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3)
Date: 11 Jan 2008
From:"Prof. William Granara" <granara at fas.harvard.edu>
Subject:Mafia etymology response

There is a theory that the word 'mafia' is derived from the Arabic  
root ''ayn, fa', waw' with the sense of 'to protect,' or 'restore to  
health,' and that it's an 'ism makaan' meaning 'sanctuary.'  This  
makes sense in that the early Mafia took refuge in the mountainous  
regions of Sicily.

   Bill Granara

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4)
Date: 11 Jan 2008
From:John.Alcorn at trincoll.edu
Subject:Mafia etymology response

A succinct, comprehensive, authoritative discussion of hypotheses  
about the etymology of the Sicilian words "mafioso" and "mafia" is  
found in:
Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection  
(Harvard U. Press, 1993), Appendix A, pp. 259-61.
Gambetta discusses inter alia six distinct hypotheses that posit  
Arabic origins of "mafioso" and "mafia".
I hope this is helpful.

John Alcorn
Trinity College
Hartford, CT

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5)
Date: 11 Jan 2008
From:"Dr. M Deeb" <muhammaddeeb at gmail.com>
Subject:Mafia etymology response

At a time when Arabs are systematically denigrated, right, left  and  
centre,
I feel very awkward to trace today the etymology of _mafia_ and  
previously
of _assassin_ to an assumed Arabic origin!

I take comfort, however, in the fact that good many etymological  
suggestions
are no more credible than tarnished tombstones.

All that notwithstanding, two possible links can be identified between  
the
term  _mafia_  and the Arabs: one of (a) time as the term originated
approximately in mid -10th.century, and of (b) place Sicily  
( صقلية  ), then
an Arab colony.

_Mafia_ (also _maffia_) originally stood for a Sicilian underground
organization developed to conduct warfare against Arab invaders.

How this Sicilian clandestine society acquired its plausibly Arabic  
name, is
not known for certain.  As stated by Dr. Z. Deeb, one explanation goes  
as
far as to suggest that the name comes from the Arabic /_ma'fy_/, the  
form
being either a Sicilian or Maltese Arabic dialect.  (Parenthetically,
/_ معفى_ / _mu'faa_/, i.e., pp. of IV, is the proper morphological  
form.)   The
word means "protected," or "safeguarded,"  hence a place of sanctuary.

Further explanations offered are:

   - /maafya/ = "there is no body."
   - /maehfil/ = "meeting place."
   - /mahiaS ; mahyaS/ = "aggressive, boasting, bragging."
   - /marfuD/ = "rejected."


A more interesting, but far-fetched, story claims that the name is  
derived
from the war cry shouted by a Sicilian as he attacked a Frenchman who  
had
ravished and killed his fiancée.  "Morte alla Francia!"
to which other Sicilians added the words, "Italia anela!" (is Italy's
cry!).  The five initials form the word _mafia_.

*(! والله أعلم* )

-- 
M. Deeb

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6)
Date: 11 Jan 2008
From:"jolanda guardi (jolanda.guardi)" <jolanda.guardi at unimi.it>
Subject:Mafia etymology response

As far as I know there are different suggestions for the etimology of  
the word mafia
1. from ar. mahiàS(boasting)
2. from ar. mu'àfiya and mu'àfa(strongly criticised because the  
meaning "protection" pertains more the sicilian dialect than the  
arabic word))
3. from ar. mahfal(concilium, synodus)

a good reference is
G. B. Pellegrini, Gli arabismi nelle lingue neolatine, Paideia  
Editrice, Brescia1972, 2 volls., vol. I, p. 223

Hope this helps
Jolanda Guardi

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