omerta

Noun

omertà (countable and uncountable, plural omertàs)

1. (crime) 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...1863 November 7, “The State of Italy”, in Public Opinion: […], volume IV, number III, London: Cox and Wyman, […], →OCLC, page 520, column 1

   Synonyms:

   Sicilian code

2. (broadly, figuratively) 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...1997, Ian Hill, “The Province of Ulster [Monaghan]”, in Irish Counties: A Journey into the History, Culture and Tradition of Ireland, London: Salamander Books, →ISBN, page 89