The term gentilicio 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 demonym, therefore, is a noun or an adjective that allows you to specify a link with a geographic site. It can refer to a nation, a region, a city or another type of administrative or geographical entity.
There are multiple suffixes in our language that allow the construction of demonyms. Some of the most used are -ano , -ense , -eño , -ero and -ino .
An individual born in Colombia , for example , is known as "Colombian" . That is to say, "Colombian" is the name for Colombia . He who is a native of the Argentine province of Chubut , to cite another case, is called "chubutense" . A man who was born in Panama , on the other hand, is "Panamanian" , while someone originally from a coastal area is "coastal" . The individual related to Salamanca , in Spain , is "Salmantino" .
An individual born in Cádiz, Spain, on the other hand, is represented with the adjective gaditano . As can be seen, demonyms do not always look very similar to the geographical place to which they refer, and this makes it especially difficult to learn them or deduce their meaning if we have not seen them before. Additionally, there are some sites for which more than one demonym is used; Such is the case of Valladolid , which has the associated terms vallisoletano/na , pinciano/na and pucelano/na .
Let's see below some of the most curious demonyms, either because of their differences with the name of the place they represent or because of the number of possible options :
* Zaragoza : zaragocí, cesaraugustano/na and zaragozano/na;
* Salamanca : in addition to the one mentioned above, it is possible to use the demonyms salamanquino/na, salamanticense, charro/rra and salamanqués/esa;
* San Sebastián : easonense and donostiarra;
* Guadalajara : Arriacense, Guadalajara and Caracas;
* Pontevedra : duopontino/na, lerense and pontevedrés/sa;
* Logroño : Luganonense, Logroñés/sa, Juliobrigense and Jacarero/ra;
* Mallorca : majoriciense, mallorquín/na, mayoricense and mallorqués/sa;
* Cádiz : the demonyms caditano/na, cadicense, gadeiritano/na, gaderita and cadiceño/ña are added to gaditano/na;
* Almuñécar (in Granada, Spain): sexitan/na;
* Jerusalem : the capital of Israel, famous throughout the world and often named by millions of Spanish speakers, but with a series of demonyms that not everyone knows, such as Jebusite/a, Jerosolimitano/na, Solimitano/na and Hierosolimitano/na ;
* Sicily : Trinacrio, Sicuro, Siciliano and Sicano.
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 Old Roman Empire , referred to the lineage or tribe of which a person was a part, and not to the place. geographical area in which he lived or was born. At that time, it was used in conjunction with the individual's name, as if it were their surname.
We must not forget that in Ancient Rome people organized themselves into communities, and that is why it was practical to use a word that related each individual to his or her group, since many existed within the same geographic region .
Generally, the name is associated with the place of birth . In any case, a person can begin to be mentioned with the name of the place where they live if they have been there for many years or if they have managed to identify with local customs. A 75-year-old man who was born in Germany but has lived in France since he was 3 years old could possibly be classified as "French."
Sometimes, the demonym is replaced by a hypocoristic : an affectionate or cordial designation, which at first could be derogatory. Those born in Mexico City , in this framework, are named with the hypocoristic " chilangos " instead of the demonyms "mexiqueños" , "capitalinos" or "defeños" (for the Federal District ).