Tico

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Tico is a colloquial term for a native of Costa Rica. The plural form is ticos.

Costa Ricans are usually referred to as ticos by themselves and persons of another countries, instead of using the more-formal costarricense. Some dictionaries show the formal name as costarriquenses and also "costarriqueños"; however the latter is seldom used in practice in the modern Spanish Language.

It is generally agreed that the word tico derives from the tendency of Costa Ricans to use the -ico diminutive suffix in Spanish instead of the more common and widely-used -ito. Literally ico in Spanish denotes some really very tiny, instead of simply small. A decline in the use of the former has been occurring over about the last twenty years in Costa Rica, though it remains relatively common.

[edit] Sources

• Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz, Richard Biesanz, and Karen Zubris Biesanz. The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998.