Expugnaverunt

Expugnaverunt is a Latin verb form meaning “they captured” or “they took by assault.” It is the third-person plural perfect active indicative of expugno, a first-conjugation verb meaning to storm, seize, or take by force.

Grammatically, expugnaverunt is built from the perfect stem expugnav- plus the standard third-person plural ending -erunt. The verb’s principal parts are expugno, expugnare, expugnavi, expugnatum. In classical texts the form expugnaverunt is common, though some authors also employ variants such as expugnaverunt, both conveying the same sense of completed conquest by assault.

Usage and sense, Expugnaverunt is used in historical and narrative contexts to describe military action in which a city, fortress, camp, or other target was captured through force. It emphasizes the act of taking by assault rather than by consent or stealth, depending on context. It appears throughout Latin literature in accounts of warfare, campaigns, and sieges, including works of historians and military writers.

Examples, A typical sentence might be: Romani urbem expugnaverunt. Translation: The Romans captured the city by assault. Another example: Castra expugnaverunt, “they seized the camp.”

Etymology, The verb derives from ex- (out) + pugno (to fight). The sense evolved to include “to storm” or “to take by force” in reference to military action.

See also, expugno, the base verb meaning to storm or capture, and expugnare, its infinitive form. The form expugnaverunt specifically marks a completed action by a plural subject.