Why did Mafiosos ever develop the title of their leader as a Don? I can't find it anywhere on the net, its kinda funny too though how the name Donald, comes from a celtic name meaning "to rule the world".
"Don" is pronounced with a long "o" and is title of respect in both Spanish and Italian, somewhat like "sir" in English. It has nothing to do with the name Donald.
This is true in Spanish, but I don't think this is the case in Italian. If I am correct, it may have been used in Mafioso circles-particularly in America-as the title of the "underworld prince" but I don't know the origion. FTR, I will say that the title Cumpare (pronounced koom-par-eh) does mean godfather and is a title of respect given not only to a sponsor for baptism or confirmation, but also for someone's best man or groomsman as well and may sometimes be used by close family friends irrespective of the perceeding bounds. The female gender is Cumare.
don[size=-1]1[/size] ( P ) Pronunciation Key (dn) n. Don Abbr. D. Used as a courtesy title before the name of a man in a Spanish-speaking area. Chiefly British. <LI type=a>A head, tutor, or fellow at a college of Oxford or Cambridge. A college or university professor. The leader of an organized-crime family. Archaic. An important personage. [Spanish dialectal, and Italian both from Latin dominus, lord. See dem- in Indo-European Rootshttp://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=don
