What is "tico"

Tico (feminine tica, plural ticos, ticas) is a colloquial term for a native of Costa Rica. Costa Ricans are usually called ticos by themselves and persons of other Spanish-speaking countries, in place of the more formal costarricenses.

There are two popular explanations of the origin of the term tico. The first is that it derives from the tendency of Costa Ricans to use -tico as the diminutive suffix in Spanish instead of the more common and widely used -ito. Literally -tico, when used as a suffix, in Costa Rican Spanish denotes something very small, as the suffix -ito would. Use of -tico versus -ito depends on the word, as not all of them would be easily adapted to -tico suffix.

However, this suffix is not unique to Costa Rican Spanish, and is also used in standard Spanish throughout (such as in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Argentina and even Spain), with varying degrees of frequency. What is unique to Costa Rica is the use of this suffix to also denote affection. Words ending in -ico, -ica, -tico, -tica do not only mean 'small', but also denote affection and similar feelings as well.

From a linguistic standpoint, the tico namesake is not the same as the actual suffix utilized in everyday Costa Rican language. The diminutive suffix is actually -itico, containing an 'i' that replaces the usual 'o' or 'a' ending a word.

The second explanation of tico is that it's short for Hermanitico ('Little Brother' with the suffix described above), a friendly and respectful way the people of Costa Rica used in the past (during the Central American war against William Walker) to refer to themselves.

Interesting Note:

A Spanish school in Heredia adopted the name "Tico" Lingo in reference to the colloquial term for a native Costa Rican.

1. redirect Dora the Explorer#Tico the Squirrel

Tico is a colloquial name for the natives of Costa Rica. TICO is the Travel Industry Council of Ontario.

Tico or 'TICO may also refer to:

• Tico Records, a record label
• Daewoo Tico, compact Korean car
• Los Ticos, a nickname for the Costa Rica national football team
• Tico-Tico no Fubá, famous instrumental by Zequinha de Abreu
• Tico-Tico no Fubá (film), 1952 Brazilian comedy film
• Hurricane Tico (1983)
• Chefe Tico, a village in northeastern Mozambique
• Taco Tico, a chain of Tex-Mex fast-food restaurants
• Tico and the Triumphs, a band in which Paul Simon performed in his early career
• USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) (nicknamed "Tico"), a guided-missile cruiser and the lead ship of her class
• Training Institute of Central Ohio, a former youth prison in Columbus, Ohio.
• TICO (codec) or Tiny IntoPIX Codec, a codec