Esperanto

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 used in several proposed reforms 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 unidiomatically, 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

References

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