-atico

See also: -ático, ático, and atiço

Italian

Etymology

Most likely inherited from Latin -āticus. Doublet of -aggio, from Old Occitan or Old French.

Etymological notes

This suffix was traditionally seen as a borrowing from Latin, as it was believed that -āticus would be expected to develop into *-acco via syncope of the post-tonic vowel (such as in freddo < frigidus); furthermore, most words formed with this suffix are learned terms, such as problematico (← problēmaticus).

However, the claim that *-acco is the regular reflex of -āticus is unwarranted; Fleischman (citing E. L. Dawson) notes that "a thorough examination of Medieval Latin and Italian texts has not only failed to produce a single example in *-acco, but also discovered none showing syncope of the posttonic vowel between a dental and a velar". She also adduces a solid core of non-learned formations using -atico, such as lugliatico (< Medieval Latin iūliāticus).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.ti.ko/
• Rhymes: -atiko
• Hyphenation: -à‧ti‧co

Suffix

-atico (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -atica, masculine plural -atici, feminine plural -atiche)

1. used to derive adjectives with a meaning of “of, pertaining to”

   ‎iniziare (“to initiate”) + ‎-atico → ‎iniziatico (“initiatory”)

   ‎magma + ‎-atico → ‎magmatico (“magmatic”)

Derived terms

Italian terms suffixed with -atico

Related terms

• -aggio

Further reading

• Charles H. Grandgent (1927) “Phonology”, in From Latin to Italian: An Historical Outline of the Phonology and Morphology of the Italian Language, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, →DOI, page 90.
• Suzanne Fleischman (1976) “The Apennine Penninsula and Sardinia”, in Cultural and Linguistic Factors in Word Formation: An Integrated Approach to the Development of the Suffix -age (University of California Publications in Linguistics; 86)‎^[1], Berkeley: University of California Press, →ISBN, pages 240-241.

Anagrams

• ciato, otica

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈaː.ti.koː/, [ˈäːt̪ɪkoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ti.ko/, [ˈäːt̪iko]

Suffix

-āticō

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