omertà
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omertà
- /ˌəʊmɛːˈtɑː/ UK
- /ˌoʊmɛɹˈtɑ/ US
- /oʊˈməɹtə/ US
- [-ɾə] US
Rhymes with -ɑː
Where it comes from
PIE word
*dʰéǵʰōm
Unadapted borrowing from Italian omertà; further etymology uncertain—the following have been suggested:
* from Spanish hombredad (“manliness”) (archaic), with the spelling aligned with Sicilian omu (“man”). Hombredad is derived from hombre (“man”) + -edad (variant of -dad (suffix forming nouns denoting a state of being)). However, the expected Sicilian output from a Spanish borrowing would have been *ummirità ~ *ummiritati.
* from Sicilian umirtà (“humility”) (referring to the Mafia code’s requirement of obedience to the leader), from Latin humilitās (“obedience, submission”), from humilis (“humble; abject, submissive”) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns denoting a state of being); with humilis from humus (“floor, ground; earth, soil”) + -ilis (suffix forming an adjective of relation). If so, the English word is a doublet of humility. However, the Oxford English Dictionary takes the view that this is “not well supported by the geographical distribution of the word”.
noun omertàs · omerta
-
A code of silence amongst members of the Mafia that forbids divulging insider secrets to law enforcement, often also followed outside of the organization for fear of retaliation.
Here we have the unfortunate heirloom of corrupt government—Omertà (a Sicilian word, meaning silence on the part of witnesses to a deed of blood). The Government arrests a delinquent and has him tried before a court; but the latter, for want of witnesses, cannot condemn. "We dare not speak," say the
Similar: Sicilian code
- Any code of silence (especially about something illegal or secret), or refusal to talk openly about something. The unspoken emotions he [John McGahern] dissects expose a repressive world of ordinary people from both sides in the civil war of 1922: of policemen, nurses and teachers; of ancient hatreds passed down from generation to generation, submerged in the Irish omertàs which make taboo so many aspects of
Translations
Every language
noun code of silence amongst members of the Mafia
| Español | omertà |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 오메르타 omereuta |
| 日本語 | オメルタの掟 omeruta no okite, 沈黙の掟 chinmoku no okite, 血の掟 chi no okite |
| 中文 | 緘默法則 /缄默法则 jiānmò fǎzé |
| Português | omertà |
| Français | omerta |
| Deutsch | Omertà |
| Italiano | omertà |
| Ελληνικά | ομερτά omertá |
| Română | omertà |
| Русский | омерта́ omertá, оме́рта omérta |
| العربية | أُومِيرْتَا omertā |
| עברית | אוֹמֶרְטָה omertá |
Talk about this word "omertà." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/omert%C3%A0. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. omertà. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/omert%C3%A0 "omertà." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/omert%C3%A0.Cite this
@misc{omerta_2026,
title = {omertà},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/omert%C3%A0},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
