paparazzo
[pah-puh-raht-soh; Italian pah-pah-raht-tsaw]
- a freelance photographer, especially one who takes candid pictures of celebrities for publication.
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Origin of paparazzo
1965–70; < Italian, from the surname of such a photographer in Federico Fellini's La dolce vita (1959), after the name of a hotelkeeper in George Gissing's By the Ionian Sea (1901), read by Fellini in It translation at the time of the movie's producton
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for paparazzi
Contemporary Examples
Paparazzi photos of Mrs. Knowles-Carter sporting the Bettie Page look were released.
The Outrage Over Beyonce’s Bettie Page Bangs: Why the Media Must Stop Objectifying WomenPhoebe Robinson
October 15, 2014
Mrs. Clooney has been followed around Athens during a three-day visit by a horde of paparazzi that number into the hundreds.
A low point came when she was photographed by paparazzi crying in a Soho street after the break-up.
Lady Gaga, “Paparazzi” Did you know Alexander Skarsgard was in this video?
She peaked with a few good songs, but now is riding the wave of promotions, brands, and paparazzi.
paparazzo
- a freelance photographer who specializes in candid camera shots of famous people and often invades their privacy to obtain such photographs
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Word Origin
C20: from Italian
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for paparazzi
n.
1961, from Italian Paparazzo (plural paparazzi) surname of the freelance photographer in Federico Fellini's 1959 film "La Dolce Vita." The surname itself is of no special significance; it is said to be a common one in Calabria, and Fellini is said to have borrowed it from a travel book, "By the Ionian Sea," in which occurs the name of hotel owner Coriolano Paparazzo.
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paparazzo
n.
see paparazzi.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper