different between dacoit vs mafia

English

Alternative forms

• dakoit, decoit

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi ???? (?akait)/Urdu ????? (?akait), from ???? (??k?, “gang-robbery”)/Urdu ????? (??k?).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??k??t/
• Rhymes: -??t

Noun

dacoit (plural dacoits)

1. (chiefly India) A bandit or armed robber, especially in India, Pakistan, Myanmar, and the surrounding region.
   • 1893, Bithia Mary Croker, "The Dâk Bungalow at Dakor" in "To Let" etc., Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1906, p. 118, [1]

     […] she had harangued us on the subject of fever and cholera and bad water, had warned us solemnly against dacoits, and now she was hinting at ghosts.

   • 1954, July 19, "The Terror of Kings," Time:

     The history of northern India is studded with the names of notorious outlaw dacoits who roam the hills in the name of Kali, robbing the rich, comforting the poor, and in general spreading terror and rough justice.

   • 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 49:

     On the way back Boyles led him down a lampless lane, and sure enough, a pair of dacoits pounced on them.

   • 2004, Oct. 20, Catherine Philp, "India's Bandit King is betrayed," The Times, London:

     “The notorious forest brigand, bandit, murderer and dacoit, Veerappan, along with his entire gang, has been shot dead,” Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State, announced.

   • 2007 April 21, "EDITORIAL: Pakistani Phoolan Devi’s short career," Daily Times, Pakistan:

     A very athletic female dacoit was arrested in North Nazimabad in Karachi after she vaulted over a nine-foot wall, following her unsuccessful attempt at armed robbery in the house of a retired banker.

Derived terms

• dacoitage
• dacoity

Translations

Verb

dacoit (third-person singular simple present dacoits, present participle dacoiting, simple past and past participle dacoited)

1. (chiefly India) To commit armed robbery.

References

• dacoit at OneLook Dictionary Search
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.

English

Etymology

See Mafia. The sense "entity which attempts to control a specified arena" makes an analogy to crime-syndicate mafias' attempts to control certain kinds of business in the regions in which they exist.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?m?fi.?/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?mæfi.?/

Noun

mafia (plural mafias)

1. A hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like distribution of narcotics, gambling and extortion.
2. A crime syndicate.
3. A trusted group of associates, as of a political leader.
4. (in compound terms such as "moral mafia") An entity which attempts to control a specified arena.

   the digital mafia

   the literary mafia

Translations

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English mafia.

Noun

mafia c (singular definite mafiaen, plural indefinite mafiaer)

1. A mafia.

Declension

Derived terms

• mafiafamilie

Finnish

Noun

mafia

1. mafia

Declension

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.fja/

Noun

mafia f (plural mafias)

1. The Mafia

Further reading

• “mafia” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian mafia.

Noun

mafia f (plural mafias)

1. Mafia (Italian Mafia)
2. Mafia (any criminal organisation)

Synonyms

• (criminal organisation): cartel

Derived terms

• mafioso

Italian

Etymology

From Sicilian, of uncertain origin. Most likely from Arabic ???????? (m?j?s, “bragging, boasting, aggressive”), though French mafler (“to devour, gluttonize”) is considered another possible source.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ma.fja/

Noun

mafia f (plural mafie)

1. The Mafia (International organized crime organization)
2. mafia (Individual branch)
3. arrogance

Derived terms

• mafioso
• mafiologo
• mafiosità

Descendants

• ? German: Mafia
• ? Turkish: mafya

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• (non-standard since 1987) maffia

Noun

mafia m (definite singular mafiaen, indefinite plural mafiaer, definite plural mafiaene)

1. mafia, Mafia

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• (non-standard since 1987) maffia

Noun

mafia m (definite singular mafiaen, indefinite plural mafiaer or mafiaar, definite plural mafiaene or mafiaane)

1. mafia, Mafia

Polish

Etymology

From Italian mafia, from Sicilian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ma.f?a/

Noun

mafia f

1. mafia (crime syndicate)
2. mafia (trusted group of associates, as of a political leader)

Declension

Derived terms

• (adjective) mafijny

Related terms

• (nouns) mafijno??, mafioso
• (adverb) mafijnie

Further reading

• mafia in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• mafia in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian mafia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?mafja/, [?ma.fja]

Noun

mafia f (plural mafias)

1. Mafia (Italian Mafia)
2. Mafia (any criminal organization)

   Synonym: cartel

Derived terms

• antimafia
• mafioso

Further reading

• “mafia” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.