“Tico” is a colloquial term for a native of which Central American country?

Ticos, as Costa Ricans affectionately call themselves, are so named for their linguistic tendency to add the diminutive “tico” to the end of each word. This suffix may refer to smallness, but also implies fondness or affection.

The word Tico is for a male and Tica for a female person. But also, if the word is male like a male cat is gatico, it turns into gatica when it’s a female cat.

In English, it is customary to add “small” or “little” in front of it. In my language, Dutch, we actually make everything small by adding “je” to the word. Like beer becomes biertje and a joint becomes jointje.