Katharine Hepburn

10 5.3

An American film actress famous for a long career and for playing strong characters

proper noun
/ˈkæθərɪn ˈhɛpbɜrn/

: Katharine Hepburn

I watched a classic film starring Katharine Hepburn last night.

Examples

Many critics consider Katharine Hepburn one of the greatest actresses in film history.
The partnership between Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn became legendary in Hollywood.
Katharine Hepburn starred in 'The Philadelphia Story' and 'On Golden Pond.'
Did you know that Katharine Hepburn won four Academy Awards?
Katharine Hepburn received four Academy Awards for Best Actress during her incredible career.
Many consider Katharine Hepburn to be one of the greatest actresses in cinematic history.
Katharine Hepburn's unique voice and strong-willed characters made her a standout in Hollywood.

Surface Forms

Katharine Hepburn main

Morphology

Katharine + Hepburn

This is a referential proper name whose meaning (the identity and biography of a specific actress) depends on cultural/world knowledge rather than composition of its parts. The constituents are personal names with no transparent lexical meaning to derive the description, so a B1 learner who only knows the name parts would not infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Katharine Hepburn was a famous American actress who often played smart, independent women and even wore trousers on and off screen when that was rare, creating a strong visual image of confidence. So, her name is now remembered as a symbol of 'independence' and 'strength'.