From Paparazzo, a fictional photographer in Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' (1960) — possibly from an Italian dialect word for a buzzing insect.
Freelance photographers who aggressively pursue celebrities to take candid photographs.
From 'Paparazzo,' the surname of a freelance photographer character in Federico Fellini's 1960 film 'La Dolce Vita.' Fellini took the name from an Italian dialect word for a buzzing insect, or possibly from the name 'Papataceo' in a travel book he'd read — a innkeeper whose name suggested the buzzing, pestering quality he wanted. Key roots: Paparazzo (Italian: "fictional character name (possibly from dialect for buzzing insect)").
Every paparazzi photographer is named after one fictional character in one Italian film. Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' (1960) featured a relentless photographer named Paparazzo. Within a year, the name had become a common noun in multiple languages. The plural 'paparazzi' is technically the Italian plural — 'paparazzo' is the singular, though almost no one in English uses it correctly