-ico

See also: ico, Ico, iĉo, iço, and -iĉo

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin -icus, which forms adjectives of belonging or origin.

Suffix

-ico m (feminine counterpart -ica)

1. -ic; added to nouns to form adjectives

Derived terms

Galician words suffixed with -ico

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Italian

Etymology

From Latin -icus.

Suffix

-ico m (feminine -ica, masculine plural -ici, feminine plural -iche)

1. -ic

Derived terms

Italian words suffixed with -ico

Anagrams

• ciò, coi

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Latin

Etymology 1

From -ō suffixed to words with stems ending in -ic (including -icus), which was reinterpreted as part of the suffix.

Suffix

-icō (present infinitive -icāre, perfect active -icāvī, supine -icātum); first conjugation

1. forms regular first-conjugation verbs, sometimes with frequentative meaning

   fodiō + -icō → fodicō

   albus + -icō → albicō

Derived terms

Latin words suffixed with -ico

Descendants

• Catalan: -egar
• Italian: -icare

Etymology 2

Suffix

-icō

1. dative masculine singular of -icus
2. dative neuter singular of -icus
3. ablative masculine singular of -icus
4. ablative neuter singular of -icus

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Portuguese

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin -icus, which forms adjectives of belonging or origin, from Proto-Indo-European *-ikos, *-iḱos.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /i.ku/
• (South Brazil) IPA^(key): /i.ko/
• Words with this suffix are proparoxytones.

Suffix

-ico m (feminine -ica, plural -icos, feminine plural -icas)

1. -ic; -ical (of or pertaining to [the suffixed noun])

Derived terms

Portuguese words suffixed with -ico

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ku/
• (South Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ko/

Suffix

-ico m (feminine -ica, plural -icos, feminine plural -icas)

1. irregular diminutive suffix, often forming new senses rather than semantic diminutives

   ‎burro (“donkey”) + ‎-ico → ‎burrico (“small donkey”)

   ‎verão (“summer”) + ‎-ico → ‎veranico (“Indian summer”)

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Spanish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin -icus, which forms adjectives of belonging or origin from a noun.

Suffix

-ico (feminine -ica, masculine plural -icos, feminine plural -icas)

1. Added to nouns to form adjectives; -ic

   ‎fotografía (“photograph”) + ‎-ico → ‎fotográfico (“photographic”)

Usage notes

• The stress will fall on the syllable before the suffix (e.g. cuántico, with emphasis on /a/). Contrast Etymology 2, with stress on the suffix.

Etymology 2

Related to Ladino -iko, which serves as the equivalent of -ito.

Suffix

-ico

1. (Murcia, Granada, Navarre, Aragón, Cuba, Spain) Usually derogatory diminutive suffix; added to nouns to form nouns; replaces standard Spanish suffix -ito.

Usage notes

• The stress falls on the first syllable of the suffix (e.g. marica, with emphasis on /i/). Contrast Etymology 1, with stress on the syllable preceding the suffix.

Derived terms

Spanish words suffixed with -ico

Further reading

• “-ico” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.