Docebam

Docebam is a Latin word meaning "I was teaching" or "I used to teach." It is the first-person singular imperfect active indicative form of the verb *docēre*, which means "to teach." The imperfect tense in Latin is used to describe ongoing actions in the past, habitual actions in the past, or actions that were happening when another event occurred. Therefore, docebam conveys a sense of continuity or repetition in the act of teaching during a past period. This form would appear in sentences where a speaker is recounting past teaching activities or describing a state of affairs where teaching was a regular occurrence. For example, a Roman citizen might say, "Magistrum docebam," meaning "I was teaching the boy" or "I used to teach the boy." The precise nuance of docebam depends on the context of the sentence in which it is used, but its core meaning always relates to the past, ongoing, or habitual act of teaching by the speaker.