The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type criminal society originating on the island of Sicily and dating to at least the 19th century. It is a loose association of organized criminal syndicates. code of conduct or "honor" present himself to the public under a common brand. The basic group is known as a "family", "clan", or cosca. Each family claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town, village or neighbourhood (borgata) of a larger city, in which it operates its rackets. Its members call themselves "men of honour", although the public often refers to them as mafiosi. By the 20th century, wide-scale emigration from Sicily, facilitated the formation of mafiosi style gangs in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and South America. These diaspora based outfits replicated the traditions and methods of their Sicilian ancestors to varying extents. The Mafia's core activities are protection racketeering, the arbitration of disputes between criminals, and the organizing and oversight of illegal agreements and transactions. Etymology The word mafia originated in Sicily. The Sicilian noun mafiusu (in Italian: mafioso) roughly translates to mean "swagger," but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, mafiusu in 19th-century Sicily was ambiguous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta. In reference to a woman, however, the feminine-form, "mafiusa", means a beautiful or attractive female. The Sicilian word mafie refers to the caves near Trapani and Marsala, which were often used as hiding places for refugees and criminals. Sicily was once an Islamic emirate, therefore mafia might have Arabic roots. Possible Arabic roots of the word include: maʿafī (): exempted. In Islamic law, Jizya is the yearly tax imposed on non-Muslims residing in Muslim lands. Those who pay it are "exempted" from prosecution. mahyāṣ (): aggressive boasting, bragging marfūḍ (): rejected muʿāfā (): safety, protection Maʿāfir (): the name of an Arab tribe that ruled Palermo The public's association of the word with the criminal secret society was perhaps inspired by the 1863 play "I mafiusi di la Vicaria" (it) ("The Mafiosi of the Vicaria") by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaspare Mosca. The words mafia and mafiusi are never mentioned in the play. The drama is about a Palermo prison gang with traits similar to the Mafia: a boss, an initiation ritual,