What does the name omertà mean?
Asked by: Wilson Swaniawski | Last update: May 2, 2025Score: 4.4/5 (62 votes)
Italian noun omer·tà ȯ-ˈmer-tä : code of silence.
What does omertà mean in Italian?
Omertà (/oʊˈmɛərtə/, Italian pronunciation: [omerˈta]) is a Southern Italian code of silence and code of honor and conduct that places importance on silence in the face of questioning by authorities or outsiders; non-cooperation with authorities, the government, or outsiders, especially during criminal investigations; ...
What does omertà mean in Spanish slang?
Quick Reference. (as practised by the Mafia) a code of silence about criminal activity and a refusal to give evidence to the police.
What does omertà mean in Latin?
The word sounded vaguely familiar to me but I couldn't place it so I looked it up. Turns out omerta refers to a code of silence about criminal activity and a refusal to give evidence to authorities.
Where does the name omertà come from?
Another suggestion traces the origin of the word to the Italian word umiltà, meaning 'humbleness' but, in certain areas of Southern Italy, denoting 'discretion ' or 'privacy. ' In the Sicilian dialect, the word is pronounced umirtà, which might explain the derivation of omertà (Alongi 1977 [1886]).
omerta meaning and pronunciation
What is Cosa Nostra another name for?
Definitions of Cosa Nostra. noun. a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia. synonyms: Maffia, Mafia. crime syndicate, family, mob, syndicate.
What does omertà mean in French?
[ɔmɛʀta ] feminine noun. code of silence. briser l'omerta to break the code of silence.
What does omertà mean in Greek?
ομερτά feminine. code of silence amongst members of the Mafia or other criminal organization.
What does Terra Nostra mean in English?
Terra Nostra means "Our earth" and "Our land" in Latin, Italian and Catalan.
What is omerta in The Godfather?
Adhering to omertà means that members must never inform authorities or rival criminals about Mafia secrets and activities under any circumstances. Punishment for breaking the code of omertà is death.
What is the expression crime in Italy?
The exclamation “crime in Italy” is a variation of criminently, or criminy, both euphemisms for Christ. Some people started saying the word with "gee" instead of "cri". I think they use "gee" more in the South (in the US, anyway).
How do you use omerta in a sentence?
We are finally breaking the omerta, the wall of silence, around the abuse of children in some of our institutions. He portrayed a generation of mobsters who had lost territory and influence to newer criminal gangs, and abandoned the old code of omerta.
What does omerta mean in slang?
a code of silence practiced by the Mafia; a refusal to give evidence to the police about criminal activities.
What does Nostra stand for?
Italian noun phrase. : our thing : the Sicilian Mafia. See the full definition.
What does omerta of the libertine mean?
Then they all chant, “Omertà of the Libertines!” which is both a rally cry and pledging a vow of silence for all events that take place that evening. What happens in Oxford, stays in Oxford. They continue to smash up the place; throw a bunch of money at the manhandled waitress and continue their rampage into the night.
Is Omertà Spanish or Italian?
Italian. secrecy sworn to by oath; code of silence.
Where does the name omerta come from?
Mafia code of obedience to the leader and silence about the organization and its business, 1909, from Italian omertà, a dialectal form of umilta "humility," in reference to submission of individuals to the group interest, from Latin humilitas "lowness, small stature; insignificance; baseness, littleness of mind," in ...
Why is it called Cosa Nostra?
He revealed that American mafiosi referred to their organization by the term cosa nostra ("our thing" or "this thing of ours" or simply "our cause" / "our interest"). At the time, Cosa Nostra was understood as a proper name, fostered by the FBI and disseminated by the media.
What is the literal translation of omerta?
Omertà is how we describe a code of silence, but the literal translation of the Italian word is “manhood.” In Sicily, it implies that a man needs to handle his own problems without relying on the law.
What does con moto mean in Italian?
"Con moto" is an Italian expression that translates to "with motion" or "with movement" in English, conveying the meanings of "pace" or "tempo". In music, "con moto" is an instruction used to guide performers to play with a moderate or brisk tempo, evoking a sense of motion and momentum.
What does Cosa Nostra mean in slang?
/ˌkəʊsə ˈnəʊstrə/ another name for the US Mafia. Cosa nostra is Italian for 'our thing'. Want to learn more?
What is the boss of bosses in Italian?
Capo dei capi (Italian: [ˈkaːpo dei ˈkaːpi]; "boss of [the] bosses"), capo di tutti i capi ( Italian: [ˈkaːpo di ˈtutti i ˈkaːpi]; "boss of all [the] bosses") or Godfather (Italian: padrino) are terms used mainly by the media, public, fiction writers and law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime ...
What is a Gumar?
The word isn't pretty, but a gumar usually is: The word refers to the girlfriend of a married gangster, like Janice Rossi (Gina Mastrogiacomo), the girlfriend of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) in Goodfellas.