What is the common meaning of amiguito/a?
In my Spanish textbook, I have come across the word "amiguito." It means little friend in the story--which is about a little boy who has his friends come to his birthday party.
When I was seeing if amiguito had a feminine counterpart, I noticed that in SpanishDict's dictionary that the meaning was "lover, boyfriend or girlfriend".
What is the primary meaning of this word? I definitely do not want to use this word in reference to a child if it primarily means "lover."
4 Answers
"ito" is the diminutive giving the sense of little. So, amiguito (masculine) is little friend and with the "a" ending is feminine.
I really wouldn't worry about the more salacious interpretations you were suggesting. It's a kids book and the words are valid.
If there are secondary meanings, they don't have a role in this context. Shakespeare used the phrase "country matters" to make a reference to female genitalia. Only those sophisticated enough to discern this, noticed 
Birdland is correct. In addition the "ito" can add endearment to the word. "Le da cariño a la palabra."
Quite a lot of folk also use "amiguito/a" for their pets although it may be more apropriate for a kitten than for a St Bernard dog.
little friend, buddy
