The term demonym comes from the Latin word gentilicius, which in turn derives from gentīlis. This concept refers to those who belong to the same country or lineage .
A gentilicio, therefore, is a noun or a adjective which allows you to specify a link to a geographic site. It can refer to a nation, a region, a city or other kind of administrative or geographical entity.
There are multiple suffixes in our language that allow the construction of gentilicios. Some of the most used are -year , -ense , -year , -ero and -ino .
To the individual born in Colombia , by example , it is known as "Colombian". That is "Colombian" is the gentilicio of Colombia . The one who is a native of the Argentine province of Chubut , to name another case, it is called “Chubutense”. A man who was born in Panama on the other hand it is "Panamanian", while the origin of a coastal area is "coastal". The individual related to Salamanca , in Spain , is "Salamanca".
An individual born in Cádiz, Spain, on the other hand, is represented by the adjective gaditano. As you can see, the gentilicios do not always look much like the place geographical to which they refer, and this makes it especially difficult to learn them or deduce their meaning if we have not seen them before. In addition, there are some sites for which more than one gentilicio is used; such is the case of Valladolid, which has the terms associated vallisoletano / na, pinciano / na and pucelano / na.
Let's see below some of the most curious gentilicios, either because of their differences with the name of the place they represent or the amount of options possible:
* Zaragoza : zaragocí, cesaraugustano / na and zaragozano / na;
* Salamanca : in addition to the one mentioned above, it is possible to use the gentile salamanquino / na, salamanticense, charro / rra and salamanqués / esa;
* Saint Sebastian : easonense and donostiarra;
* Guadalajara : arriacense, guadalajareño / ña and caracense;
* Pontevedra : duopontino / na, lerense and pontevedrés / sa;
* Logroño : Lucroniense, Achievement / Sa, Julio Brigense and Jacarero / Ra;
* Mallorca : Majoriciense, Majorcan / Na, Majorcan and Mallorcan / Sa;
* Cádiz : Cadizano / Na, Cadiz, Gadeiritano / Na, Gaderita and Cadiceño / ña are added to Cadiz / Na;
* Almuñécar (in Granada, Spain): sexitano / na;
* Jerusalem : the capital from Israel, famous throughout the world and often named by millions of Spanish speakers, but with a series of gentilicios that not everyone knows, such as being jebuseo / jerosolimitano / na, solimitano / na and Hierosolimitano / na;
* Sicily : trinacrio / a, Sícuro / a, Sicilian / na and Sicano / na.
As mentioned at the beginning of this definition, the meaning of the Latin term that gave rise to demonym, which was commonly used in the Ancient Roman Empire , referred to lineage or the tribe of which a person was a part, and not to the geographical place in which he lived or was born. At that time, it was used in conjunction with the individual's name, as if it were his last name.
We must not forget that in the Ancient Rome people were organized in communities, and therefore it was practical to use a word that related each individual to their group, since within the same region There were many geographical.
Usually the gentilicio is associated with place of birth . Anyway, one person It can begin to be mentioned with the gentilicio of the place where he lives if he has been there for many years or if he managed to identify with the customs local . A 75-year-old man who was born in Germany but who lives in France since he was 3 years old he may be qualified as "French".
Sometimes, the gentilicio is replaced by a hypocoristic : an affectionate designation or cordial , which at first could be derogatory. To those born in the Mexico City , in this framework, they are named with the hypocoristic "Chilangos" instead of the gentilicios "Mexicans", “Capitalists” or "Defenses" (by federal District ).
