-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

---

Interlingua

Etymology

Borrowed from English -ic, French -ique, Italian -ico, Portuguese -ico/Spanish -ico, Russian -ик (-ik) all ultimately from Latin -icum, from -icus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iko/

Suffix

-ico

1. forms nouns from nouns, denoting a person occupied with a science or study; -ic, -ician, -ian

   ‎historia (“history”) + ‎-ico → ‎historico (“historian”)

   ‎theoria (“theory”) + ‎-ico → ‎theorico (“theoretician”)

Usage notes

• The stressed syllable in words formed with -ico is the antepenult, i.e. the syllable prior to the suffix.
• A corresponding nominal suffix denoting a particular science or study is -ica while the corresponding adjectival suffix is -ic.

Derived terms

Category Interlingua words suffixed with -ico not found

References

• Alexander Gode; Hugh E. Blair (1955) Interlingua: A Grammar of the International Language, →ISBN

---

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

---

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

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Suffix

-icō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of -icus

---

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”)

---

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