Paparazza

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ËŒpæpəˈɹætsÉ™/
• US IPA: /ËŒpÉ‘pəˈɹɑtsÉ™/

Origin

From , changed from paparazzo to reflect feminine gender (both actual and grammatical), as is morphology standard in Italian.

Full definition of paparazza

Noun

1. A female
• 1981, Francine du Plessix Gray, World Without End: A Novel, ^{1} This Sophie he often talks to her about, who helps support her old sick parents so nobly and has just won a big prize for her writing, how did she go about finding herself as a paparazza?
  ^{2} ... she might eventually interview Henry Miller there; she could begin her career as a paparazza that way…
• 1991, Barry Brummett, Rhetorical Dimensions of Popular Culture, Eventually the harried waitress turns paparazza and drives them out with flashbulbs.
• 1992, Judith Gould, Forever, “Keeping her away from us will only rouse her interest all the more,” Zarah stated flatly. “Especially if she turns out to be a journalist or a paparazza. Worse yet, who knows? She could even be a spy working for our competitors.”
• 1996, Judy Collins, Shameless: A Novel, “How’s my favorite paparazza?” Stan said, grabbing me around the waist in an embrace that threatened to squash my cameras between us.
• 1996, Kevin J. H. Dettmar, Marketing Modernisms: Self-promotion, Canonization, Rereading, Thus at the moment when Joyce is most transparent, when he is most evidently the modernist alienated artist as flâneur, he is also most the star, the object of the paparazza’s intrusive camera.
• 1998, Kai Maristed, Belong to Me: Stories, “Have we a delegate of the press? La paparazza, in hot pursuit? Or ambush … Oh, my dear girl, nasty scratch.”
• 2003, Matthew Lee, Predatory Bender: America in the Aughts, a Story of Subprime Finance — with a non-fiction advocates’ afterword, Bain wouldn’t return her calls but she knew where he worked. She was not a paparazza but stories were made, not given. Even dead stories could be used to dig around.
• 2004, Alison Jolly, Lords and Lemurs: Mad Scientists, Kings with Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar, “When did your brother die?”
  “A month ago.” Well, that explained Valiotaky’s appearance. It was taboo for him to wash his clothes or shave until his brother was buried. But even with the backing of Tsiaketraky, the Father-and-Mother, I was troubled. Was I really going to be a horrible paparazza, intruding on a family of strangers in their mourning?
• 2005, Roz Bailey, Girls’ Night Out, “I think that would be paparazza,” Maggie corrected. “Singular, feminine. But you say that as if it’s a religious cult or something.”
• 2006, Robert Eversz, Zero to the Bone: A Nina Zero Novel, I know, I’m only a paparazza scum, but the newspaper’s lawyers insist I’m paparazza scum with constitutional rights ...

Synonyms

• mamarazzi