Legamus

Legamus is a Latin verb form derived from legere, meaning “to read” and more broadly “to gather, select.” It appears in two related present-tense forms: legimus, the first-person plural present indicative meaning “we read,” and legamus, the first-person plural present subjunctive meaning “that we read” or, in hortatory usage, “let us read.” The subjunctive legamus is the form used to express exhortation, purpose, or wishes in classical and ecclesiastical Latin.

Grammatically, legamus is the present active subjunctive of legere. The present indicative for the same person is legimus, and the present subjunctive is distinguished by its -amus ending in this verb class (present indicative is -imus). The base form legere also provides other forms such as lego, leges, legit, legimus, legitis, legunt in the indicative, and legam, legas, leget, legamus, legatis, legant in the subjunctive.

Usage and examples commonly reflect its hortatory function. For example, Legamus libros. translates as “Let us read the books” or “May we read the books.” Another example with an explicit object is Legamus hunc librum. “Let us read this book.” In ordinary narrative, legimus would be used to state a simple assertion: Legimus libros cotidie means “We read books daily.”

Etymology and related forms: legere belongs to a broad Latin root meaning “to read, to gather, to choose.” The related perfect passive participle lectus (read, chosen) and the noun lector (reader) are derived from the same family. Legamus, as a subjunctive form, appears in classical, late antique, and ecclesiastical Latin texts, preserving the characteristic hortatory sense of many Latin verbs in the present subjunctive.