Modificaverunt

Modificaverunt is the third-person plural perfect active indicative form of the Latin verb modificare, meaning to modify, alter, or change. In this form it denotes a completed past action, commonly translated as “they modified” or “they have modified.” It takes a direct object to indicate what was changed, for example a text or a law.

Modificare belongs to the first conjugation. The perfect active endings for the third person plural are typically -averunt or -āvērunt, yielding forms such as modificaverunt or modificāvērunt. The corresponding forms in other persons include modificavi (I modified), modificavisti (you modified), modificavit (he/she/it modified), and so on. The spelling without the macron, modificaverunt, is standard in ordinary Latin texts.

Etymology and nuance: modificare is formed from a root related to modus (measure, manner) with a suffix meaning “to make,” signaling the sense of changing something to a different form or standard. The word is common in historical, legal, and textual contexts where alterations or edits are described, such as revisions to laws, policies, or manuscripts.

Usage and context: Modificaverunt appears in narratives or accounts that describe actions taken to alter or refine a thing. It can describe concrete edits to a document, changes to regulations, or stylistic/structural changes in a text. It is often encountered in historical records, legal inscriptions, and classical literature.

Related forms include modificavit (he modified), modificare (to modify), and the noun modificatio (modification).