Bránili

Bránili is a Czech word form of the verb bránit, meaning to defend or protect. It represents the past tense, third-person plural form, used when the subject is masculine or a mixed-gender group. For example, Oni bránili město means “They defended the city.”

Grammatical notes: Bránili is part of the past tense conjugation of bránit. In Czech, past tense forms agree with the subject in gender and number, so bránili corresponds to masculine plural (or a mixed group). The feminine plural and neuter forms are bránily and bránilo, respectively. The verb bránit itself is imperfective and can indicate defending actions that occurred over a period or repeatedly in the past.

Usage and nuance: Bránili is commonly used in historical, military, legal, and everyday contexts to describe acts of defense, protection, or opposition against an intrusion, threat, or attack. It can refer to physical defense of people or property, as well as metaphorical defense of rights, values, or ideas.

Etymology and cognates: The Czech bránit comes from Proto-Slavic roots meaning to defend. Cognates appear in other Slavic languages, such as Slovak brániť, Polish bronić, and Russian branit’, all with similar meanings related to defense or protection.

See also: bránit, the base verb from which bránili is formed.