-uccio

The suffix -uccio/-uccia, from Vulgar Latin -uc(c)ulus, -(uc)cula, from -(uc)culum, from the Latin diminutive suffix -culus (feminine -cula, neuter -culum).^[1] Compare also Sicilian -uzzu, Romanian -uț.

-uccio m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ucci, feminine -uccia)

1. used to form diminutive melioratives

   Synonyms: -ino, -cino; -ello, -cello; -etto; (primarily Sicilian) -uzzo

   ‎amore (“love”) + ‎-uccio → ‎amoruccio (“darling”, literally “little loved one”)

2. diminutive suffix with patronizing or pejorative connotations when attached to specific words

   ‎medico (“doctor”) + ‎-uccio → ‎medicuccio (“quack”)

   ‎femmina (“female”) + ‎-uccia → ‎femminuccia (“cowardly person”)

• ciuco, cucio, cuoci