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Glite Dictionary
De Niro

De Niro

41 3.9
An American film actor born in 1943 who often plays tough characters
  • proper noun
  • /də ˈnɪroʊ/
: De Niro
  • Many critics consider De Niro one of the greatest actors of his generation.
  • Robert De Niro
  • starring Robert De Niro

Examples

  • In 'Raging Bull', Robert De Niro delivered an unforgettable performance as Jake LaMotta.

  • I love watching movies starring De Niro.

  • De Niro has appeared in both dramatic and comedic roles throughout his career.

  • De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in 'Raging Bull'.

  • Have you seen De Niro in 'Taxi Driver'?

  • Robert De Niro is renowned for his role in the classic film 'Taxi Driver'.

  • Many consider Robert De Niro one of the greatest actors of his generation.

Surface Forms

De Niro main

Morphology

De + Niro

This is a proper name (the actor Robert De Niro) and its referent cannot be derived from the surface parts; 'De' and 'Niro' do not carry compositional English meanings that would signal 'actor' to a learner. Even if learners recognize 'De' from other languages, that recognition does not enable them to infer the identity or profession, so the expression is arbitrary and opaque.

Etymology

De Niro is the surname of the famous actor Robert De Niro and comes from old Italian: de means 'of' and nero means 'black'. So today De Niro usually refers to that actor, who is known for playing tough, serious characters.