Scivimus

Scivimus is a Latin verb form derived from scio, meaning “to know.” It is the first‑person plural perfect indicative active form, translated in English as “we knew” or “we have known.” The perfect tense in Latin expresses a completed action at a definite time in the past; therefore scivimus indicates knowledge that was acquired or realized in the past and regarded as complete by the speaker.

Morphologically, scivimus combines the stem sciv- with the first‑person plural ending -imus, which is common to the perfect tense of many first‑conjugation verbs that undergo vowel change (e.g., facit → facimus, vidit → vidimus). The perfect stem sciv- is formed from the imperfect stem sci- plus the theme vowel i, a pattern found in many irregular first‑conjugation verbs.

In classical literature scivimus appears in dialogues, proclamations, and narrations where speakers assert that certain information or truth has been understood. For example, in a rhetorical passage from Cicero, a speaker might state “scivimus omnia” to emphasize collective awareness of a fact. The verb also appears in biblical Latin translations, where it conveys a sense of certainty or revelation experienced by a group.

Because scivimus is a standard grammatical construction, its use is typically predictable and unmarked by special stylistic nuances. It functions exactly like other perfect forms in conveying past knowledge that is viewed as complete. The form is regularly taught to students of Latin as part of the verb conjugation drills, especially in lessons focused on perfect tense distinctions between indicative, subjunctive, and optative moods.

In summary, scivimus is a straightforward grammatical element of Classical Latin, representing first‑person plural knowledge acquired in the past and used routinely in literary, rhetorical, and didactic contexts to assert that “we knew” something definitive.