Anton Blok
"The Mafia of a Sicilian Village 1860-1960
Glossary of Sicilian Words *
| abigeato | Cattle rustling |
| amministratore | Steward on large estate |
| aratro | Wooden, iron-tipped plow drawn by oxen or mules |
| azienda | Farmstead |
| burgisi | Smallholders ("middle peasants") |
| cacocciula | Local clique of mafiosi (see cosca) |
| campiere | Armed, mounted field guard on large estate |
| campierato | Area controlled by a campiere; task of surveillance; also: tribute collected from peasants working in area |
| cantina | Plant for processing grapes into wine |
| Carabinieri | Local detachment of the national police force (part of the Italian Army) |
| chiusura | Enclosure |
| circolo | Local club for adult males |
| civili | Gentlemen |
| civilta | Civility |
| compare (cumpa') | Co-parent |
| contadino | Peasant |
| corona | Area of intensive cultivation immediately surrounding a village |
| cosca (pl.: coshe) | Local clique of mafiosi |
| cuccia | Enforced tribute |
| curatolo | Chief herdsman; foreman of the shepherds tending the
estate herds;
cheesemaker |
| enfiteusi | Emphyteusis, copyhold. Land given with the obligation of paying rent and maintaining property. Emphyteusis may terminate in full ownership by the tenant and be inherited |
| fiera | Local market |
| frane | Landslides |
| feudo (pl.: feudi) | Large estate (originally a fief), and used in ordinary language to designate a large estate |
| gabella | Lease of an estate, usually of six years' duration |
| gabelloto (gabellotto) | Leaseholder |
| girato | Area of intensive cultivation around a masseria |
| guardiania (guardianeria) | see campierato |
| latifondo | Large landed estate |
| lupara | From lupo, wolf; sawed-off shotgun; a specific mode of killing a man, i.e. with a lupara |
| mafioso | Violent entrepreneur, middleman |
| maggese | Fallow |
| mandria | Herd of cattle or sheep |
| masseria | Farm; as an ecological unit of land and animals, farm building |
| metateria | Sharecropping |
| metatiere | Sharecropper |
| mezzadria | Sharecropping |
| mezzadro | Sharecropper |
| omerta | From umo, man; code of honor. The attitude that assumes that recourse to legal authority in cases of persecution by private enemies is a symptom of weakness. Common theft, for example, was considered a sign of lack of respect indicating the thief did not fear vengeance. |
| paese (paisi) | Village, town |
| padrone | Patron, boss, employer |
| partito | Party |
| pezzo grosso | Big shot |
| pizzu | Enforced tribute (see cuccia) |
| ringrano | Stubble field; field in which grain is sowed for the second consecutive year |
| societa | Partnership for entrepreneurs, society |
| soprastante | Overseer on a large estate |
| sulla | Fodder crop. Hedysarium coronarium, a perennial legume to the Mediterranean |
| uomo di fiducia | Man of confidence; retainer |
| usi civici | Common use rights on feudi |
| villano (viddanu) | Peasant, countryman |