-iĉo

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

Esperanto

Etymology

Derived by analogy with the masculine suffix -ĉj- and the feminine suffixes -nj- and -ino.

Suffix

-iĉo

  1. (neologism) of masculine sex[1]
    bovo (“a neat (bovine)”) + ‎-iĉo → ‎boviĉo (“bull”)
    japano (“a Japanese person”) + ‎-iĉo → ‎japaniĉo (“Japanese man”)

Usage notes

An unofficial neologism proposed for reforms or evolution of Esperanto. Derives the masculine form of a word, parallel to feminine -in-, for example:

bovo (“a head of cattle”) → boviĉo (“bull”) / bovino (“cow”)

Resistance to the adoption of the suffix centers around concern that traditionally male roots (of which there a few dozen, primarily kin terms and titles) would become gender-neutral, for example:

patro (“parent (normally father)”) → patriĉo (“father”) / patrino (“mother”)

Some authors, such as Georgo Kamaĉo, Luiz Portella, and Yoshito Usui, have published books using this suffix.

An official idiom to designate male animals is to form compounds after viro (“man”), such as virbovo for bull (although idiomatically, this could mean a minotaur). L.L. Zamenhof, the founder of Esperanto, began this usage in the 1920s with his translation of Genesis, and it is now widespread. To designate male members of a profession, it is common to use the adjective vira, such as vira kelnero for a male waiter.

Antonyms

  • -ino (“female”)

See also

Gender reform in Esperanto on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

► <a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:Esperanto_words_suffixed_with_-i%C4%89o'>Esperanto words suffixed with -iĉo</a>

References

  1. ↑ Wennergren, Bertilo (2010-03-09), “IĈ°”, in Plena Manlibro de Esperanta Gramatiko‎ (in Esperanto), retrieved 2010-10-08
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